hard

[ hahrd ]

adjective

, hard·er, hard·est.

1. not soft; solid and firm to the touch; unyielding to pressure and impenetrable or almost impenetrable.

   Synonyms: flinty, adamantine, firm, compact, compressed, rigid, inflexible

   Antonyms: soft

2. firmly formed; tight:

   a hard knot.

3. difficult to do or accomplish; fatiguing; troublesome:

   a hard task.

   Synonyms: exhausting, wearisome, onerous, toilsome

   Antonyms: easy

4. difficult or troublesome with respect to an action, situation, person, etc.:

   hard to please;

   a hard time.

   Antonyms: easy

5. difficult to deal with, manage, control, overcome, or understand:

   a hard problem.

   Synonyms: tough, knotty, intricate, puzzling, complicated, complex

   Antonyms: easy

6. involving a great deal of effort, energy, or persistence:

   hard labor;

   hard study.

   Synonyms: laborious, difficult, arduous

   Antonyms: easy

7. performing or carrying on work with great effort, energy, or persistence:

   a hard worker.

8. vigorous or violent in force; severe:

   a hard rain;

   a hard fall.

   Synonyms: tempestuous, stormy

9. bad; unendurable; unbearable:

   hard luck.

10. oppressive; harsh; rough:

    hard treatment.

    Synonyms: unsparing, merciless, cruel, rigorous, severe

11. austere; severe:

    a hard winter;

    the hard times of the Great Depression.

12. harsh or severe in dealing with others:

    a hard master.

    Synonyms: unpitying, exacting, strict, austere, stern, unyielding, adamant, obdurate, relentless

13. difficult to explain away; undeniable:

    hard facts.

    Synonyms: incontrovertible

14. that can be verified; factual, as distinguished from speculation or hearsay:

    hard information.

15. harsh or unfriendly; resentful; severe; bitter:

    hard feelings;

    hard words.

16. of stern judgment or close examination; searching:

    a hard look.

17. lacking delicacy or softness; not blurred or diffused; clear and distinct; sharp; harsh:

    a hard line;

    a hard, bright light;

    hard features;

    a hard face.

18. (of a photograph) contrasty.
19. severe or rigorous in terms:

    a hard bargain.

20. sternly realistic; dispassionate; unsentimental:

    a hard, practical man;

    a hard view of life.

21. incorrigible; disreputable; tough:

    a hard character.

22. Scot. and North England. stingy; mean:

    hard with money.

23. in coins or paper money as distinguished from checks, securities, promissory notes, or other negotiable instruments).
24. (of paper money or a monetary system) supported by sufficient gold reserves and easily convertible into the currency of a foreign nation.
25. (of money) scarce or available at high interest rates:

    a hard loan.

26. denoting assets with intrinsic value, as gold, silver, or diamonds.
27. (of alcoholic beverages)
    1. containing more than 22.5 percent alcohol by volume, as whiskey and brandy as opposed to beer and wine.
    2. strong because of fermentation; intoxicating:

       hard cider.

28. (of wine) tasting excessively of tannin.
29. (of an illicit narcotic or drug) known to be physically addictive, as opium, morphine, or cocaine.
30. (of water) containing mineral salts that interfere with the action of soap.
31. (of bread and baked goods)
    1. having a firm, crisp crust or texture:

       hard rolls.

    2. stale or tough.
32. (of a fabric) having relatively little nap; smooth:

    Silk is a harder fabric than wool or cotton.

33. (of the landing of a rocket or space vehicle) executed without decelerating: Compare soft ( def 28 ).

    a hard landing on the moon.

34. (of a missile base) equipped to launch missiles from underground silos.
35. (of a missile) capable of being launched from an underground silo.
36. Military. being underground and strongly protected from nuclear bombardment.
37. Agriculture. noting wheats with high gluten content, milled for a bread flour as contrasted with pastry flour.
38. Phonetics.
    1. fortis.
    2. (of c and g ) pronounced as (k) in come and (g) in go, rather than as in cent, cello, suspicion, gem, or beige.
    3. (of consonants in Slavic languages) not palatalized. Compare soft ( def 26 ).
39. (in the making of rope) noting a lay having a considerable angle to the axis of the rope; short.
40. Physics. (of a beam of particles or photons) having relatively high energy: Compare soft ( def 29 ).

    hard x-rays.

41. (of the penis) erect.

adverb

, hard·er, hard·est.

1. with great exertion; with vigor or violence; strenuously:

   to work hard;

   to try hard;

   to fight back hard.

2. earnestly, intently, or critically:

   to look hard at a thing.

3. harshly or severely.
4. so as to be solid, tight, or firm:

   frozen hard.

5. with strong force or impact:

   She tripped and came down hard on her back.

6. in a deeply affected manner; with genuine sorrow or remorse:

   She took it very hard when they told her of his death.

7. closely; immediately:

   Failure and defeat seemed hard at hand.

   The decision to ban students from the concerts followed hard on the heels of the riot.

8. to an unreasonable or extreme degree; excessively; immoderately:

   He's hitting the bottle pretty hard.

9. Nautical. closely, fully, or to the extreme limit:

   hard aport;

   hard alee.

noun

1. Nautical. a firm or paved beach or slope convenient for hauling vessels out of the water.
2. British.
   1. a firm or solid beach or foreshore.
   2. a firm landing, jetty, or road across or adjoining the foreshore.
3. British Slang. hard labor.

hard

/ hɑːd /

adjective

1. firm or rigid; not easily dented, crushed, or pierced
2. toughened by or as if by physical labour; not soft or smooth

   hard hands

3. difficult to do or accomplish; arduous

   a hard task

4. difficult to understand or perceive

   a hard question

5. showing or requiring considerable physical or mental energy, effort, or application

   hard work

   a hard drinker

6. stern, cold, or intractable

   a hard judge

7. exacting; demanding

   a hard master

8. harsh; cruel

   a hard fate

9. inflicting pain, sorrow, distress, or hardship

   hard times

10. tough or adamant

    a hard man

11. forceful or violent

    a hard knock

12. cool or uncompromising

    we took a long hard look at our profit factor

13. indisputable; real

    hard facts

14. chem (of water) impairing the formation of a lather by soap See hardness
15. practical, shrewd, or calculating

    he is a hard man in business

16. too harsh to be pleasant

    hard light

17. 1. (of cash, money, etc) in coin and paper rather than cheques
    2. (of currency) in strong demand, esp as a result of a good balance of payments situation
    3. (of credit) difficult to obtain; tight
18. (of alcoholic drink) being a spirit rather than a wine, beer, etc

    the hard stuff

19. (of a drug such as heroin, morphine, or cocaine) highly addictive Compare soft
20. physics (of radiation, such as gamma rays and X-rays) having high energy and the ability to penetrate solids
21. physics (of a vacuum) almost complete
22. (of goods) durable
23. short for hard-core See hard core hard core
24. (of news coverage) concentrating on serious stories
25. phonetics
    1. an older word for fortis
    2. (not in modern technical usage) denoting the consonants c and g in English when they are pronounced as velar stops (k, g)
    3. (of consonants in the Slavonic languages) not palatalized
26. 1. being heavily fortified and protected
    2. (of nuclear missiles) located underground in massively reinforced silos
27. politically extreme

    the hard left

28. informal.
    incorrigible or disreputable (esp in the phrase a hard case )
29. (of bread, etc) stale and old
30. a hard nut to crack
    1. a person not easily persuaded or won over
    2. a thing not easily understood
31. hard by
    near; close by
32. hard doer
    a tough worker at anything
33. hard done by
    unfairly or badly treated
34. hard up informal.
    1. in need of money; poor
    2. foll by for in great need (of)

       hard up for suggestions

35. put the hard word on informal.
    to ask or demand something from

adverb

1. with great energy, force, or vigour

   the team always played hard

2. as far as possible; all the way

   hard left

3. with application; earnestly or intently

   she thought hard about the formula

4. with great intensity, force, or violence

   his son's death hit him hard

5. foll byon, upon, by, or after close; near

   hard on his heels

6. foll by at assiduously; devotedly
7. 1. with effort or difficulty

      their victory was hard won

   2. ( in combination )

      hard-earned

8. slowly and reluctantly

   prejudice dies hard

9. go hard with
   to cause pain or difficulty to (someone)

   it will go hard with you if you don't tell the truth

10. hard at it
    working hard
11. hard put or hard put to it
    scarcely having the capacity (to do something)

    he's hard put to get to work by 9:30

noun

1. any colorant that produces a harsh coarse appearance
2. a roadway across a foreshore
3. slang.
   hard labour
4. slang.
   an erection of the penis (esp in the phrase get or have a hard on )

Other Words From

• half-hard adjective
• o·ver·hard adjective
• o·ver·hard·ness noun
• sem·i·hard adjective
• sem·i·hard·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hard¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English heard; cognate with Dutch hard, German hart, Old Norse harthr, Gothic hardus; akin to Homeric Greek kratýs “strong” and classical Greek krátos “strength” ( -cracy ), from the Proto-Indo-European root kar-, ker- “hard”

Word History and Origins

Origin of hard¹

Old English heard; related to Old Norse harthr, Old Frisian herd, Old High German herti, Gothic hardus hard, Greek kratus strong

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. be hard on, to deal harshly with; be stern:

   You are being too hard on him.

2. hard by, in close proximity to; near:

   The house is hard by the river.

3. hard put, in great perplexity or difficulty; at a loss:

   We were hard put to finish the examination in one hour.

4. hard up, Informal.
   1. urgently in need of money.
   2. feeling a lack or need:

      The country is hard up for technicians and doctors.

5. hard of hearing. hard of hearing.

More idioms and phrases containing hard

• between a rock and a hard place
• cold (hard) cash
• come down (hard) on
• die hard
• drive a (hard) bargain
• go hard with
• no hard feelings
• play hardball
• play hard to get
• school of hard knocks
• tough (hard) row to hoe

Synonym Study

See firm ¹. Hard, difficult both describe something resistant to one's efforts or one's endurance. Hard is the general word: hard times; It was hard to endure the severe weather. Difficult means not easy, and particularly denotes that which requires special effort or skill: a difficult task. Hard, callous, unfeeling, unsympathetic imply a lack of interest in, feeling for, or sympathy with others. Hard implies insensibility, either natural or acquired, so that the plight of others makes no impression on one: a hard taskmaster. Callous may mean the same or that one is insensitive to being hurt as the result of continued repression and indifference: a callous answer; callous to criticism. Unfeeling implies natural inability to feel with and for others: an unfeeling and thoughtless remark. Unsympathetic implies an indifference that precludes pity, compassion, or the like: unsympathetic toward distress.

Example Sentences

The exact impact of these tariffs is hard to discern, considering that the full effects can take years to settle in and the inflationary impact of the pandemic makes it difficult to draw straight lines.

From Salon

The film’s version of “Dancing Through Life” is so backlit that it’s hard to make out characters beyond a blinding white glare, an offense second only to the way Elphaba is filmed in low light.

From Salon

"The Right to Buy has helped millions into home ownership. It has given something back to families who worked hard, paid their rent, and played by the rules," he said.

From BBC

"The Latin American countries are working very hard – we will not allow the gender programme to drop and allow human rights to be dropped," she told BBC News.

From BBC

"We can only work as hard as we have done. I'm aware of the pressure and that decisions could be made outside of my control," he continued.

From BBC

Related Words

• arduous
• complicated
• heavy
• rough
• serious
• terrible
• tough
• troublesome