hard

[ hahrd ]

/ hɑrd /

|||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hard ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, hard·er, hard·est.

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

firmly formed; tight: a hard knot.

difficult to do or accomplish; fatiguing; troublesome: a hard task.

difficult or troublesome with respect to an action, situation, person, etc.: hard to please; a hard time.

difficult to deal with, manage, control, overcome, or understand: a hard problem.

involving a great deal of effort, energy, or persistence: hard labor; hard study.

performing or carrying on work with great effort, energy, or persistence: a hard worker.

vigorous or violent in force; severe: a hard rain; a hard fall.

bad; unendurable; unbearable: hard luck.

oppressive; harsh; rough: hard treatment.

austere; severe: a hard winter; the hard times of the Great Depression.

harsh or severe in dealing with others: a hard master.

difficult to explain away; undeniable: hard facts.

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

harsh or unfriendly; resentful; severe; bitter: hard feelings; hard words.

of stern judgment or close examination; searching: a hard look.

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.

(of a photograph) contrasty.

severe or rigorous in terms: a hard bargain.

sternly realistic; dispassionate; unsentimental: a hard, practical man; a hard view of life.

incorrigible; disreputable; tough: a hard character.

Scot. and North England. niggardly; stingy.

in coins or paper money as distinguished from checks, securities, promissory notes, or other negotiable instruments).

(of paper money or a monetary system) supported by sufficient gold reserves and easily convertible into the currency of a foreign nation.

(of money) scarce or available at high interest rates: a hard loan.

denoting assets with intrinsic value, as gold, silver, or diamonds.

(of alcoholic beverages)

containing more than 22.5 percent alcohol by volume, as whiskey and brandy as opposed to beer and wine.
strong because of fermentation; intoxicating: hard cider.

(of wine) tasting excessively of tannin.

(of an illicit narcotic or drug) known to be physically addictive, as opium, morphine, or cocaine.

(of water) containing mineral salts that interfere with the action of soap.

(of bread and baked goods)

having a firm, crisp crust or texture: hard rolls.
stale or tough.

(of a fabric) having relatively little nap; smooth: Silk is a harder fabric than wool or cotton.

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

(of a missile base) equipped to launch missiles from underground silos.

(of a missile) capable of being launched from an underground silo.

Military. being underground and strongly protected from nuclear bombardment.

Agriculture. noting wheats with high gluten content, milled for a bread flour as contrasted with pastry flour.

Phonetics.

fortis.
(of c and g) pronounced as (k) in come and (g) in go, rather than as in cent, cello, suspicion, gem, or beige.
(of consonants in Slavic languages) not palatalized.Compare soft(def 26).

(in the making of rope) noting a lay having a considerable angle to the axis of the rope; short.

Physics. (of a beam of particles or photons) having relatively high energy: hard x-rays.Compare soft(def 29).

(of the penis) erect.

adverb, hard·er, hard·est.

with great exertion; with vigor or violence; strenuously: to work hard; to try hard.

earnestly, intently, or critically: to look hard at a thing.

harshly or severely.

so as to be solid, tight, or firm: frozen hard.

with strong force or impact: She tripped and came down hard on her back.

in a deeply affected manner; with genuine sorrow or remorse: She took it very hard when they told her of his death.

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.

to an unreasonable or extreme degree; excessively; immoderately: He's hitting the bottle pretty hard.

Nautical. closely, fully, or to the extreme limit: hard aport; hard alee.

noun

Nautical. a firm or paved beach or slope convenient for hauling vessels out of the water.

British.

a firm or solid beach or foreshore.
a firm landing, jetty, or road across or adjoining the foreshore.

British Slang. hard labor.

Nearby words

Idioms

be hard on, to deal harshly with; be stern: You are being too hard on him.

hard by, in close proximity to; near: The house is hard by the river.

hard of hearing. hearing-impaired.

hard put, in great perplexity or difficulty; at a loss: We were hard put to finish the examination in one hour.

hard up, Informal.

urgently in need of money.
feeling a lack or need: The country is hard up for technicians and doctors.

Origin of hard

before 900; Middle English; Old English heard; cognate with Dutch hard, German hart, Old Norse harthr, Gothic hardus; akin to Greek kratýs strong, Ionic dial. kártos strength (cf. -cracy)

SYNONYMS FOR hard

1 inflexible, rigid, compressed, compact, dense, resisting, adamantine, flinty. See firm¹.

3 toilsome, burdensome, wearisome, exhausting. 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.

5 complex, complicated, perplexing, puzzling, intricate, knotty, tough.

6 arduous, onerous, laborious.

8 stormy, tempestuous.

10 severe, rigorous, grinding, cruel, merciless, unsparing.

12 stern, austere, strict, exacting, relentless, obdurate, adamant; unyielding, unpitying. 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 himself or herself insensitive to 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.

13 incontrovertible.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hard ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR hard

1 soft.

3–6 easy.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR hard ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

half-hard, adjectiveo·ver·hard, adjectiveo·ver·hard·ness, nounsem·i·hard, adjective

sem·i·hard·ness, noun

Definition for hard (2 of 2)

hards

[ hahrdz ]

/ hɑrdz /

plural noun

the refuse or coarser parts of flax or hemp, separated in hackling.

Also hurds.

Origin of hards

before 900; Middle English herdes, Old English heordan

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hard

My body used for his hard pleasure; a stone god gripping me in his hands.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits|Emily Shire|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
They worked just as hard on that as the people who made the good movie did.
Patton Oswalt on Fighting Conservatives With Satire|William O’Connor|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Mr. Bachner said it had been hard to introduce his work ethic and share his vision with the locals and his team.
The Photographer Who Gave Up Manhattan for Marrakech|Liza Foreman|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It was hard not to take it as a sign, a personal comment on my own Jewish dating failings.
My Week on Jewish Tinder|Emily Shire|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST

I mean, the reality of it was, I had to go out and get on a horse, and ride in, shoot the gun — how hard was that, right?
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
They flow wideningly around the hard turnings of the house with the grace of a rivulet.
The Amateur Garden|George W. Cable
From the inn yard came the sound of music and the beat of the dancers feet on the hard ground.
The Motor Maids Across the Continent|Katherine Stokes
Never could he look to the old gentleman for a friendly word, or a bit of help over a hard financial place again.
The Corner House Girls Growing Up|Grace Brooks Hill
To confirm this remark let the sentences be inverted; "thou art an hard man, I knew thee to be such, or I knew it."
Dissertation on the English Language|Noah Webster, Jr.
The road was hard and dry as there was a high March wind, although not at present a cold one.
The Red Cross Girls with Pershing to Victory|Margaret Vandercook

British Dictionary definitions for hard (1 of 2)

hard

/ (hɑːd) /

adjective

firm or rigid; not easily dented, crushed, or pierced

toughened by or as if by physical labour; not soft or smoothhard hands

difficult to do or accomplish; arduousa hard task

difficult to understand or perceivea hard question

showing or requiring considerable physical or mental energy, effort, or applicationhard work; a hard drinker

stern, cold, or intractablea hard judge

exacting; demandinga hard master

harsh; cruela hard fate

inflicting pain, sorrow, distress, or hardshiphard times

tough or adamanta hard man

forceful or violenta hard knock

cool or uncompromisingwe took a long hard look at our profit factor

indisputable; realhard facts

chem (of water) impairing the formation of a lather by soapSee hardness (def. 3)

practical, shrewd, or calculatinghe is a hard man in business

too harsh to be pleasanthard light

(of cash, money, etc) in coin and paper rather than cheques
(of currency) in strong demand, esp as a result of a good balance of payments situation
(of credit) difficult to obtain; tight

(of alcoholic drink) being a spirit rather than a wine, beer, etcthe hard stuff

(of a drug such as heroin, morphine, or cocaine) highly addictiveCompare soft (def. 20)

physics (of radiation, such as gamma rays and X-rays) having high energy and the ability to penetrate solids

physics (of a vacuum) almost complete

mainly US (of goods) durable

short for hard-coreSee hard core (def. 3), hard core (def. 4)

(of news coverage) concentrating on serious stories

phonetics

an older word for fortis
(not in modern technical usage) denoting the consonants c and g in English when they are pronounced as velar stops (k, g)
(of consonants in the Slavonic languages) not palatalized

being heavily fortified and protected
(of nuclear missiles) located underground in massively reinforced silos

politically extremethe hard left

British and NZ informal incorrigible or disreputable (esp in the phrase a hard case)

(of bread, etc) stale and old

a hard nut to crack

a person not easily persuaded or won over
a thing not easily understood

hard by near; close by

hard doer NZ a tough worker at anything

hard done by unfairly or badly treated

hard up informal

in need of money; poor
(foll by for) in great need (of)hard up for suggestions

put the hard word on Australian and NZ informal to ask or demand something from

adverb

with great energy, force, or vigourthe team always played hard

as far as possible; all the wayhard left

with application; earnestly or intentlyshe thought hard about the formula

with great intensity, force, or violencehis son's death hit him hard

(foll by on, upon, by, or after) close; nearhard on his heels

(foll by at) assiduously; devotedly

with effort or difficultytheir victory was hard won
(in combination)hard-earned

slowly and reluctantlyprejudice dies hard

go hard with to cause pain or difficulty to (someone)it will go hard with you if you don't tell the truth

hard at it working hard

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

any colorant that produces a harsh coarse appearance

British a roadway across a foreshore

slang hard labour

slang an erection of the penis (esp in the phrase get or have a hard on)

Word Origin for hard

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

British Dictionary definitions for hard (2 of 2)

hards

hurds

/ (hɑːdz) /

pl n

coarse fibres and other refuse from flax and hemp

Word Origin for hards

Old English heordan (plural); related to Middle Dutch hēde, Greek keskeon tow

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for hard

hard

adj.

Old English heard "solid, firm, not soft," also "severe, rigorous, cruel," from Proto-Germanic *hardu- (cf. Old Saxon and Dutch hard, Old Norse harðr "hard," Old High German harto "extremely, very," German hart, Gothic hardus "hard"), from PIE *kortu-, (cf. Greek kratos "strength," kratys "strong"), from root *kar-/*ker- "hard." Meaning "difficult to do" is from c.1200. The adverb sense was also present in Old English.

Hard of hearing preserves obsolete Middle English sense of "having difficulty in doing something." Hard liquor is 1879, American English (hard drink is from 1810; hard cider is from 1789), and this probably led to hard drugs (1955). Hard facts is from 1887; hard news is from 1938. Hard copy (as opposed to computer record) is from 1964; hard disk is from 1978. Hard up (1610s) is originally nautical, of steering (slang sense of "short of money" is from 1821), as is hard and fast (1680s), of a ship on shore. Hard times "period of poverty" is from 1705.

Hard money (1706) is specie, as opposed to paper. Hence 19c. U.S. hard (n.) "one who advocates the use of metallic money as the national currency" (1844). To play hard to get is from 1945. Hard rock as a pop music style recorded from 1967.

Idioms and Phrases with hard

hard

In addition to the idioms beginning with hard

hard act to follow
hard and fast
hard as nails
hard bargain
hard cash
harden one's heart
hard feelings
hard hat
hard hit, be
hard line
hard liquor
hard luck
hardly ever
hard nut to crack
hard of hearing
hard on
hard on someone's heels
hard pressed
hard put, be
hard row to hoe
hard sell
hard time
hard up
hard way, the

also see:

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

hard

adjective, hard·er, hard·est.

adverb, hard·er, hard·est.

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of hard

Definition for hard (2 of 2)

hards

plural noun

Origin of hards

Examples from the Web for hard

British Dictionary definitions for hard (1 of 2)

hard

adjective

adverb

noun

Word Origin for hard

British Dictionary definitions for hard (2 of 2)

hards

hurds

pl n

Word Origin for hards

Word Origin and History for hard

hard

Idioms and Phrases with hard

hard