1
as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
a hard-boiled Puritan schoolmaster who was as unyielding as New England granite
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in smart
having or showing a practical cleverness or judgment
made the hard-boiled business decision to downsize the company, thereby costing thousands of longtime employees their jobs
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of hard-boiled
It can be poached, scrambled, scotched, roasted, hard-boiled, devilled, pickled, and soft-boiled, all by itself.
—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
Boiled Placing eggs in boiling water with the shells on is another healthy cooking method that can be used until the yolk is runny (soft-boiled) or fully cooked (hard-boiled).
—
Cristina Mutchler,
Verywell Health,
29 Jan. 2026
The lenses of deep-sea fish are also especially susceptible to clouding, in the same way that egg whites go from clear to opaque when hard-boiled.
—
Literary Hub,
25 Sep. 2025
For lunch or dinner, top a salad with scrambled or hard-boiled eggs.
—
Amanda MacMillan,
Health,
9 Sep. 2025
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
Boiled Placing eggs in boiling water with the shells on is another healthy cooking method that can be used until the yolk is runny (soft-boiled) or fully cooked (hard-boiled).
—
Cristina Mutchler,
Verywell Health,
29 Jan. 2026
The lenses of deep-sea fish are also especially susceptible to clouding, in the same way that egg whites go from clear to opaque when hard-boiled.
—
Literary Hub,
25 Sep. 2025
For lunch or dinner, top a salad with scrambled or hard-boiled eggs.
—
Amanda MacMillan,
Health,
9 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard-boiled
Adjective
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Natural selection is usually ruthless about weeding out traits with no function.
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Supergirl builds to a final showdown with Krem of the Yellow Hills, the ruthless Brigands leader who murdered Ruthye’s family and poisoned Krypto early in the film.
Adjective
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Share a smart idea with a neighbor, then turn it into a clear message while your mind stays agile.
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The Knicks could, hypothetically, trade a starter to create space beneath the second apron to re-sign Robinson, but breaking up a starting five that just won a title is not a smart idea.
Adjective
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The poem that precedes it, the Iliad, is a cruel and beautiful work, the ultimate story of war; the Odyssey has its warlike passages, but its central energies seem almost commonplace beside the merciless fury of Achilles.
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Humility is the posture; the standard is merciless.
Adjective
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In Beijing, the president scrapped hardheaded diplomacy in favor of an imagined personal bond.
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At the George offices, Berman loses it once and for all at John’s lateness, his indifference to the daily operations of the magazine, and his hardheaded refusal to consider the TV show.
Adjective
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Oscar Wilde, for example, reposes beneath a hulking deity whose iconoclastic castration, back in 1961, did little to restrain pilgrims seeking to smear red lips across his stony physique.
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Instead of looking like a sleek urban loft, the room can quickly start to feel cold, stony, and impersonal.
Adjective
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However, astute investors can identify when fear has pushed expectations below a reasonable future outlook.
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They were refined and astute thinkers.
Adjective
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The Clippers, already shedding veteran stars like George and James Harden, are now fully committed to building a younger, more robust roster for the long term.
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Perhaps the Canucks will add a veteran defender to push their young blueliners for minutes, or target a reclamation project veteran at a conservative price point.
Adjective
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The bomb-throwing influencer Kat Abughazaleh, 27, won the portions of that district in Chicago’s North Side lakefront neighborhoods, but suburban votes gave savvy Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss the win.
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But are the most savvy shoppers at the car dealership this Fourth of July?
Cite this Entry
“Hard-boiled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-boiled. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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