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

A woman known as Big Mama offered shelter and tough love.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

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

From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026

Nadal was coached by his uncle Toni from the age of three with a tough love approach.

From BBC ● May 29, 2026

And now for the tough love: You have reached the point where the question is no longer whether you’re saving enough.

From MarketWatch ● May 14, 2026

They warded off the negative stereotypes that haunted Negroes like shadows, using tough love to protect both the errant individual and the group from her failings.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

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