Idiom
tough love
Meaning
The compassionate use of stringent disciplinary measures, to attempt to improve someone's behavior.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“My coach uses tough love to help me improve my game.”
“The manager used tough love by refusing to fix the employee's mistakes, forcing him to learn how to do it himself.”
“While his methods were often perceived as harsh, the mentor insisted that his brand of tough love was the only way to prepare his students for the realities of the profession.”
Examples
simple
“My coach uses tough love to help me improve my game.”
contextual
“The manager used tough love by refusing to fix the employee's mistakes, forcing him to learn how to do it himself.”
complex
“While his methods were often perceived as harsh, the mentor insisted that his brand of tough love was the only way to prepare his students for the realities of the profession.”
Key words
Related idioms
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