tough-minded

[ tuhf-mahyn-did ]
See synonyms for tough-minded on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. characterized by a practical, unsentimental attitude or point of view.

  2. strong-willed; vigorous; not easily swayed.

Origin of tough-minded

1
First recorded in 1905–10

Other words from tough-minded

  • tough-mind·ed·ly, adverb
  • tough-mind·ed·ness, noun

Words Nearby tough-minded

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

How to use tough-minded in a sentence

  • He differentiated them as the "tough-minded," and the "tender-minded."

  • You get, in short, a materialistic universe, in which only the tough-minded find themselves congenially at home.

    Pragmatism | William James
  • The tender-minded notion of an absolute reality is, according to the radically tough-minded, framed on just this pattern.

    Pragmatism | William James
  • The trip had taken its toll from all of us, even tough-minded Phil Benson.

    The Test Colony | Winston Marks
  • That tough-minded central bureaucracy did not ordinarily bother to obtain proof against those it suspected.

    Watch the Sky | James H. Schmitz

British Dictionary definitions for tough-minded

tough-minded

adjective
  1. practical, unsentimental, stern or intractable

Derived forms of tough-minded

  • tough-mindedly, adverb
  • tough-mindedness, noun

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