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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.

See Examples For:

tough love

He was known for pushing players to succeed on and off the field with discipline and tough love.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 6, 2026

The tough love that Pochettino dishes out is all he has ever known.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

But the former Celtic boss was not shy in giving his star man tough love.

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026

That tough love he talks about now began around then.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

I loved his tough love, humor, and that we were the same age.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

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