hard pass
noun
: a firm refusal or rejection of something (such as an offer)
Then poor Gendry asks Arya to be his lady, but Arya gives him a hard pass.—
Rob Bricken
Rob Bricken… the residents of Gunbarrel speak with a unified and unwavering voice: "No thank you, Mr. Mayor! Hard pass."—R. M. O'Dea
R. M. O'DeaThat disclaimer was disregarded by some who found Turner's suggestion too extreme. A home run derby in a regular season game? Is this hockey and its penalty shootouts? Hard pass.—Jorge Castillo
Jorge CastilloTake a hard pass on the house cocktails, and stick with beer or wine. Or skip the booze altogether …—Greg Cox
Greg CoxExamples of hard pass in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Instead, Tuttle suffered 10 rejections in a row, including hard passes from indie bastions like Sundance and SXSW.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 8 Oct. 2025
Unfortunately, this grill is a hard pass until the issue is resolved.
—Scott Gilbertson Matthew Korfhage, Wired News, 19 Sep. 2025
Of course, that's a hard pass, and the whole trip ends with Sue giving birth in a space shuttle escape back to Earth.
—Stephanie Sengwe, People.com, 27 July 2025
And yellow typically comes up as being like an absolute hard pass for a lot of people.
—Eleni N. Gage, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hard pass
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Brent Lang, Variety, 8 Oct. 2025
Unfortunately, this grill is a hard pass until the issue is resolved.
—Scott Gilbertson Matthew Korfhage, Wired News, 19 Sep. 2025
Of course, that's a hard pass, and the whole trip ends with Sue giving birth in a space shuttle escape back to Earth.
—Stephanie Sengwe, People.com, 27 July 2025
And yellow typically comes up as being like an absolute hard pass for a lot of people.
—Eleni N. Gage, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hard pass
Cite this Entry
“Hard pass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hard%20pass. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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