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- Dictionaryhard-boiled/ˌhɑːdˈbɔɪld/
adjective
- 1. (of an egg) boiled until the white and the yolk are solid.
- 2. (of a person) tough and cynical: "a hard-boiled Hollywood producer"
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1. of an egg : boiled until both white and yolk have solidified. 2. a. : devoid of sentimentality : tough. a hard-boiled drill sergeant. b. : of, relating to, or being a detective story featuring a tough unsentimental protagonist and a matter-of-fact attitude towards violence. 3. : hardheaded, practical. hard-boiled business decisions.
used to describe a style of story, usually about crime and detectives (= people who solve crimes), that includes unpleasant or violent details: This is a series that comes from the tradition of hard-boiled detective novels. used to describe a typical character from this style of story, who is strong and determined and shows little emotion:
used to describe a style of story, usually about crime and detectives (= people who solve crimes), that includes unpleasant or violent details: This is a series that comes from the tradition of hard-boiled detective novels. used to describe a typical character from this style of story, who is strong and determined and shows little emotion:
Definition of 'hard-boiled' Word Frequency. hard-boiled. also hard boiled. 1. adjective. A hard-boiled egg has been boiled in its shell until the whole of the inside is solid. 2. adjective. You use hard-boiled to describe someone who is tough and does not show much emotion. She's hard-boiled, tough and funny. More Synonyms of hard-boiled.
adjective. Cooking. (of an egg) boiled boil in the shell long enough for the yolk and white to solidify. Informal. tough; unsentimental: a hard-boiled vice-squad detective. marked by a direct, clear-headed approach; realistic: a hard-boiled appraisal of the foreign situation.
Definition of hard-boiled adjective in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
HARD-BOIL definition: 1. If you hard-boil an egg, you heat it in its shell in boiling water until both the white and…. Learn more.
