From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhard linehard linea strict way of dealing with someone or something The president should abandon his hard line in the region.take/adopt a hard line (on something) The school takes a very hard line on drugs. → hard
Examples from the Corpus
take/adopt a hard line (on something)• But both sides are taking a hard line.• But the Clinton administration is still taking a hard line.• But when money starts to change hands, they take a harder line.• In 1969 they took a hard line.• But they are taking a hard line in negotiations with the Legislature.• But regulators are taking a harder line these days.• Clinton, in short, did not take a hard line, though he should have.• De Gaulle took a hard line towards the strike.hard-lineˌhard-ˈline adjective EXTREMEhaving extreme political beliefs, and refusing to change them a hard-line Marxist → hard line at hard1(21)Examples from the Corpus
hard-line• The banning of popular plays is normally associated with the hard-line Calvinist reformers.• a hard-line Communist country• Nabiyev had led the republic's Communist Party under Brezhnev, and was generally seen as a hard-line conservative.• Not surprisingly, the elections did just that, bringing into office hard-line nationalists who oppose interethnic cooperation.• But the church is also divided, with a more moderate faction overshadowed by the hard-line nationalists.• They will boost Communist Party reformers, who are battling hard-line opponents before a crucial autumn party congress.• The amicable resolution suggested the reformist president and hard-line parliament may be trying to break their cycle of confrontation and deadlock.• Ian Paisley, is one of the most hard-line Unionists. 