Showing results for tough love. Search instead for tool love.

tough love

American

noun

a mixture of toughness and warmth used in a relationship, especially with an adolescent.

tough love British

noun

the practice of taking a stern attitude towards a relative or friend suffering from an addiction, etc, to help the addict overcome the problem

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of tough love

First recorded in 1977; after Toughlove, a network of support groups

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a more conciliatory message in a speech this weekend, but the underlying theme remains one of very tough love for the Continent.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 15, 2026

Clinton Kelly and Stacy London return as its hosts, older, wiser and atoning for the tough love and scathing real talk they once doled out to style-challenged guests.

From Salon • Jan. 17, 2026

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo showed some tough love for one of his former players on Monday night during the Spartans’ blowout victory against USC in East Lansing.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 6, 2026

And now some tough love: If you don’t pay off your balance every month, don’t get another card.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 2, 2025

“I tried to show him the kinda care he should get. Heh. But with that one, it’s tough love a lot of the time.”

From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023