Hard-boiled

Quick meaning: Hard-boiled is an adjective meaning Of a boiled egg, cooked to a solid consistency.

Meaning

Of a boiled egg, cooked to a solid consistency.

More Meanings

1. (figurative) Of a person, especially a detective, callous and unsentimental.
2. simple past and past participle of hard-boil
3. (literature, especially detective fiction, figurative) Written in a laconic, dispassionate, often ironic style for a realistic, unsentimental effect.

Example Sentences

'Some big, hard-boiled egg meets up with a pretty face, and bingo! He cracks up and melts.'

Christ, maybe that blond was only a bitch after all. Maybe she put out even to the punks. Come to think of it, she looked a little hard-boiled. The kind of a broad who knew a hell of a lot.

He told me afterward that he tried to find his folks and square himself—and maybe it was the truth—but some of the hard-boiled townspeople found him, instead, and he had a running fight all the way to the depot.

Word Forms

• hardboiled

Synonyms for hard-boiled

Depending on context, synonyms include harsh, severe, brutal, callous, cold, cold-eyed.

Antonyms for hard-boiled

Common opposites include runny, soft-boiled.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include cooked, pugnacious, case-hardened, hardened, hard-bitten, hard.

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