thick-skinned

4 4.2

Can accept criticism without feeling hurt

adjective
/θɪk skɪnd/

: insensible

And I like to fancy myself as a pretty strong, thick-skinned person.
pretty thick-skinned
thick-skinned and tough
become thick-skinned

And if I was, that makes me kind of thick skinned about the world's response to what I do.

Autoplay Next

Examples

If you are strong-willed, thick-skinned, and used to male sarcasm and ribbing, then you will love it.

Blog text (20)
Like we say in Spanish, I have a thick skin, but not everyone does.
So learn to stay hard, have thick skin, and do what's right.
And I think also over the years, I've grown a very thick skin with a lot of things.
I've had to definitely grow thick skin and I don't deal well with people shaming me or making me feel less than or making me feel bad about myself.
Normally I wouldn't normally sort of retaliate or you know, I just sort of let it go over my head and I've grown a very thick skin over the years.
After years of criticism, she became thick-skinned and learned not to take comments personally.
To succeed in this industry, you need to be thick-skinned and not let negative feedback affect you.
He developed a thick-skinned attitude, allowing him to handle criticism without getting upset.

Synonyms

tough

vsthick-skinned

403 3.8

Emotionally strong and not easily moved by feelings

is specifically about being unmoved by criticism not general strength

hard-nosed

vsthick-skinned

12 7.2

A practical, tough person who is not moved by feelings

is about lack of hurt from insults rather than practical toughness

tough-minded

vsthick-skinned

4 6.1

A person who deals with problems in a realistic, determined way and is not easily moved by feelings

is about being unaffected by criticism rather than problem focus

hard-bitten

vsthick-skinned

4 8.2

Tough and not easily upset because of difficult past experiences

is about not taking offense rather than only surviving hardship

tough-skinned

vsthick-skinned

4.8

Does not get upset by criticism or rude remarks

is about not being hurt by remarks rather than other emotions

hardened

vsthick-skinned

5.6

Made emotionally tougher after repeated difficult experiences

is general lack of hurt but not necessarily caused by experience

Antonyms

vulnerable

581 4.0

At risk of being harmed, attacked or influenced

sensitive

488 2.9

Aware of and careful about other people's feelings

How Sensitive

sensitive

1 4.4

touchy

33 4.9

thick-skinned

4 4.2

insensitive

124 4.6

unfeeling

14 5.9

Surface Forms

thick-skinned positive

Morphology

thick-skinned = thick + skin (transparent) = thick + skin + ed

The adjective is a straightforward compound: 'thick' + 'skin' (with -ed forming the adjectival element), yielding the metaphor 'having a thick skin' = not easily offended.

Etymology

The word thick-skinned comes from the simple idea of having thick 'skin' that keeps out small hurts, like an elephant that does not feel every scratch. So, to be thick-skinned is to not be easily hurt or offended by criticism or insults.