adj, noun, verb, slang ·2 syllables ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   In baseball, a type of ball and baseball game, as opposed to softball. countable, uncountable
2. 2
   baseball as distinguished from softball wordnet
3. 3
   Tough or ruthless behavior, especially in combat, politics or business. countable, figuratively, uncountable
4. 4
   a no-nonsense attitude in business or politics wordnet

Verb

1. 1
   To exhibit tough and ruthless behavior towards another individual. informal, transitive

Adjective

1. 1
   Being or exhibiting tough or ruthless behavior, especially in combat, politics or business.

Antonyms

All antonyms

softball

Example

More examples

"He likes to play hardball with people."

Etymology

From hard + ball.

Related phrases

play hardball

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.