tough love
noun
: love or affectionate concern expressed in a stern or unsentimental manner (as through discipline) especially to promote responsible behavior
Examples of tough love in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The city famous for its tolerance is resorting to tough love.
—
Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 21 May 2024
Outside of White House bids, Stewart was a go-to crisis manager for problem House and Senate candidates, ghost-writing strategy memos to bail out the scandal du jour or smack tough love into a spiraling campaign.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 20 May 2024
Matthew McConaughey’s mother took a tough love approach to teaching her kids about the importance of gratitude.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 8 May 2024
Marty treated them with the tough love of a trainer.
—Stayton Bonner, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2024
Marin brings tough love and ethnic wisdom to this mascot role.
—Armond White, National Review, 17 Apr. 2024
Fieri’s advice comes in the form of tough love, which makes sense for their brotherly relationship.
—Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 12 Apr. 2024
Even if that is true, sometimes circumstances call for tough love.
—Adam Taylor, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
But Jason Dunbar, a broker and appraisal surveyor with Vessel Value Survey, recommended tough love to the brokers.
—Kevin Koenig, Robb Report, 19 Mar. 2024
Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 21 May 2024
Outside of White House bids, Stewart was a go-to crisis manager for problem House and Senate candidates, ghost-writing strategy memos to bail out the scandal du jour or smack tough love into a spiraling campaign.
—Philip Elliott, TIME, 20 May 2024
Matthew McConaughey’s mother took a tough love approach to teaching her kids about the importance of gratitude.
—Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 8 May 2024
Marty treated them with the tough love of a trainer.
—Stayton Bonner, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2024
Marin brings tough love and ethnic wisdom to this mascot role.
—Armond White, National Review, 17 Apr. 2024
Fieri’s advice comes in the form of tough love, which makes sense for their brotherly relationship.
—Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 12 Apr. 2024
Even if that is true, sometimes circumstances call for tough love.
—Adam Taylor, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
But Jason Dunbar, a broker and appraisal surveyor with Vessel Value Survey, recommended tough love to the brokers.
—Kevin Koenig, Robb Report, 19 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tough love.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near tough love
Cite this Entry
“Tough love.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tough%20love. Accessed 28 May. 2024.
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