tough love

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noun

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

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of tough love

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

Words nearby tough love

tough break, toughen, toughie, toughish, tough it out, tough love, tough-minded, toughness, tough nut, tough pitch, tough row to hoe

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tough love in a sentence

A veteran of the first Iraq war in the early 1990s, he was 10 years older than most of his charges, and he treated them with a father’s tough love.
In the shadow of the towers: Five lives and a world transformed|Joby Warrick, Souad Mekhennet|September 2, 2021|Washington Post
Being told the country needs tough love when the facts suggest otherwise is not going down well with the public.
Australia Wants to Open the Great Barrier Reef to Dumping|Kirsten Alexander|June 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We need to put aside our partisan criticism and start helping him with some tough love.
Ted Cruz is the Miley Cyrus of the Senate|Dean Obeidallah|October 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Tough love and discipline are the lessons this View host offered her wide-eyed applicant.
Watch the 13 Best ‘Glee’ Guest Appearances|Anna Klassen|September 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Time for some tough love—Republicans leaders have dumped a 100-page report that spells out why their party is in dire straits.
Sore Losers: 7 Juicy Bits From the GOP’s Autopsy Report|Caitlin Dickson|March 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST
We also push each other with some serious tough love when needed.
Rebecca Skloot: How I Write|Noah Charney|March 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST

British Dictionary definitions for tough love

tough love

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