Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

tough love

American  

noun

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

tough love British  

noun

  1. 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.

Dear Amy: I have two words of advice for all of the enabling parents who reach out to you for advice: Tough love!

From Washington Post • Jun. 27, 2022

Tough love: One place you may not want to work, says Wired, is Tesla.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 24, 2018

Tough love was all she understood and, later on, all she had to offer.

From Washington Post • Sep. 15, 2017

He spent the rest of the seven-minute segment aggressively challenging her claims, telling her at one point, "Tough love is OK, as long as the rest of the country doesn't get hurt."

From Salon • Jul. 21, 2011

Tough love is the right kind of fairness.

From Time Magazine Archive

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.