A hardliner is a person, usually in politics, who wants problems dealt with in a strong, extreme way and will not soften their position. They take a hard line: little or no compromise. News writing uses this word a lot. A party can have hardliners on the left or the right; it is about how far they will go, not which side they sit on. It can sound critical — the speaker often means “too extreme” — though a hardliner’s own side may say it with respect. The person is a hardliner; their views are hard-line (often written with a hyphen). Though actually, people now stretch it a little outside politics: a hardliner on school rules, a hardliner on spending. The core is still “will not bend”. It does not mean the person is violent, and it does not mean they draw lines with a hard pencil.

強硬派。報紙有時也寫「鷹派」，但鷹派較偏外交和國防；強硬派比較廣。