- tough love
- a mixture of toughness and warmth used in a relationship, esp. with an adolescent.[1977; after Toughlove, a network of support groups]
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tough love nounThe practice of keeping a loved one who has an addiction on a strict regime of abstinence while at the same time showing them love, care, sympathy, etc• • •Main Entry: ↑tough* * *
tough love UK US noun [uncountable]a strict but kind way of dealing with someone who has a problem* * *
tough love or tough|love «TUHF LUHV», noun.any of various means that seek to remedy a person's distress by seemingly unsympathetic attitudes or harsh actions: »Gates was warned…that he was showing Scott too much understanding. Steve advised him [Gates] to practice…“tough love” (Frederic Dannen).
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n. promotion of a person's welfare, esp. that of an addict, child, or criminal, by enforcing certain constraints on them, or requiring them to take responsibility for their actions■ a political policy designed to encourage self-help by restricting state benefits* * *
noun [noncount]: love or concern that is expressed in a strict way especially to make someone behave responsibly* * *
the fact of helping sb who has problems by dealing with them in a strict way because you believe it is good for them•
While he may generally be a liberal parent, where drugs are concerned he believes in tough love.
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There are occasions when only tough-love solutions will work.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.