practical vs hard-nosed

practical and hard-nosed both are adjectives.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
practical	No	Yes	No	No
hard-nosed	No	Yes	No	No

As adjectives, practical and hard-nosed are synonyms defined as:

practical and hard-nosed: guided by practical experience and observation rather than theory

Other synonyms of practical include hardheaded, pragmatic.

practical (adjective)	hard-nosed (adjective)
concerned with actual use or practice	guided by practical experience and observation rather than theory
having or put to a practical purpose or use
guided by practical experience and observation rather than theory
being actually such in almost every respect