hardship
Americannoun
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a condition that is difficult to endure; suffering; deprivation; oppression.
a life of hardship.
- Synonyms:
- misfortune, suffering, affliction, trouble
- Antonyms:
- ease
-
an instance or cause of this; something hard to bear, as a deprivation, lack of comfort, or constant toil or danger.
They faced bravely the many hardships of frontier life.
noun
-
conditions of life difficult to endure
-
something that causes suffering or privation
Related Words
Hardship, privation, austerity refer to a condition hard to endure. Hardship applies to a circumstance in which excessive and painful effort of some kind is required, as enduring acute discomfort from cold, or battling over rough terrain. Privation has particular reference to lack of food, clothing, and other necessities or comforts. Austerity not only includes the ideas of privation and hardship but also implies deliberate control of emotional reactions to these.
Etymology
Origin of hardship
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She faces hardship at every turn, searching for ingredients and feeling the looming pressure of what will happen to her if she fails.
But despite the hardship, she’s dutifully behind me.
From Literature
In it, she dabbles in fiction, examines hardships in Gaza and continues to bend literary genres.
From Los Angeles Times
But for the many not looking to cash in on the gold rally, the run-up has turned traditional rites such as weddings into financial hardships.
From Barron's
As well as three posters, there was a video ad which depicted people and businesses in hardship while characters sang a satirical song about everything being "just fine".
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
