tough-minded

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of tough-minded There are no Cooper Flagg’s on St. John’s, but there are all these tough-minded and talented players so much fun to watch, RJ Luis Jr. and Zuby Ejiofor and Kadary Richmond and Deivon Smith, who powered through the Big East Tournament with a shoulder injury. Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 18 Mar. 2025 Incoming players must fit his culture, be tough-minded and play with maximum effort and a fierce play demeanor. Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 11 Mar. 2025 James is quite tough-minded about the limits of radical chic. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025 The Friday night announcement was criticized by some journalists as a way to score political points and penalize tough-minded news outlets. Brian Stelter, CNN, 7 Feb. 2025 Johnson is viewed as innovative, creative and somewhat tough-minded in his coaching style. Steve Silverman, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025 The Heat are always a tough-minded unit and it's reflected in their performance. David Faris, Newsweek, 29 Dec. 2024 This approach is not new; it could also be called tough-minded diplomacy. Dan Caldwell, Foreign Affairs, 13 Nov. 2024 There’s a radical, tough-minded generosity here that punches right through the wall of our moment’s hypersensitivity around appropriation. Sara Holdren, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tough-minded
Adjective
  • But an unsentimental assessment of the regional landscape offers some sense of how Trump could proceed.
    Suzanne Maloney, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2024
  • This lyrical but unsentimental book is a eulogy for transhumance—the seasonal movement of livestock and the people who watch over them.
    The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024
Adjective
  • Unforgiven recasts the genre as a pitiless, almost pathologically unromantic realm populated by twits hoping to make their name and aged gunslingers who have to make peace with their bad pasts.
    Will Leitch, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2025
  • The imagination can’t be bothered with unromantic minutiae.
    Kevin Chroust, Outside Online, 5 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Oscar Nuñez, who played levelheaded accountant Oscar Martínez on the American version of The Office, will appear in Peacock's follow-up series to the classic workplace comedy, Entertainment Weekly has learned.
    Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 28 Feb. 2025
  • But LaVine attacked this season with vigor, reshaping himself into a levelheaded leader and efficient scorer who earned quiet praise around the league.
    Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 3 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Even when the accusations are unfounded, even when the risks are small, the mere possibility of being a sucker can be psychologically potent enough to undermine a rational preference for cooperation.
    Tess Wilkinson-Ryan, TIME, 18 Mar. 2025
  • This all points to a more rational, less economically harmful climate policy, but, as always, there’s going to be litigation.
    The Editors, National Review, 17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Multiple sets are repurposed to serve as different locations — again, a financially sensible decision that also carries deep emotional resonance.
    Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 12 Mar. 2025
  • The microphone jack is located on the rear, just behind the hot shoe, a good move as this is the most sensible place to mount a mic or wireless transceiver.
    PCMAG, PCMAG, 12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The problem — and hardly an insignificant one — is that however funny comedian Jillian Bell’s directorial debut can be in the moment, none of it makes the slightest logical sense.
    Peter Debruge, Variety, 15 Mar. 2025
  • Airport lounges were overdue for a re-think, and a logical place for Delta to start catering to luxury travelers.
    Paula Conway, Forbes, 14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • While his Late Night forerunner Letterman was probably the comedic polestar of Generation X—gruff, cynical, and biting the hand that fed—O’Brien became a bedrock influence for the next generation of Millennial comics.
    David Sims, The Atlantic, 22 Mar. 2025
  • And because Disney remakes of one sort or another just keep coming, from Mulan to Pinocchio to The Little Mermaid, the temptation to be cynical about them is enormous.
    Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 21 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Here are six ways to become a smarter, saner news consumer.
    Seth Ashley, The Conversation, 7 Mar. 2025
  • What ought to be the safest, most sacrosanct place in any sane society has been trashed — and to what end?
    Damon Wise, Deadline, 20 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Tough-minded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tough-minded. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

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