hard-core

or hard·core

[hahrd-kawr, -kohr]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hard-core ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

unswervingly committed; uncompromising; dedicated: a hard-core segregationist.

relating to or containing sexually arousing depictions that are very graphic or explicit: hard-core pornography.Compare soft-core.

being so without apparent change or remedy; chronic: hard-core inflation; hard-core unemployment.

very intense or extreme: hard-core workouts at the gym.

Usually hard·core. noting or relating to the music genre hardcore, or the subculture, clothing style, etc., associated with it: hardcore t-shirts and jeans.

noting or relating to video games that can only be mastered with advanced skill and are played in longer sessions, or noting a player of such games: hard-core gaming.Compare casual(def 8).

Origin of hard-core

First recorded in 1950–55

hard core

noun

the permanent, dedicated, and completely faithful nucleus of a group or movement, as of a political party.

an unyielding or intransigent element in a social or organizational structure, as that part of a group consisting of longtime adherents or those resistant to change.

those whose condition seems to be without hope of remedy or change.

Usually hard·core. a form of punk rock or other nonmainstream popular music played in an intense, harsh, and fast style with more emphasis on rhythm than on melody.

Origin of hard core

First recorded in 1935–40

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

Related Words for hard-core

die-hard, staunch, devoted, determined, dyed-in-the-wool, explicit, extreme, faithful, intransigent, obstinate, resolute, rigid, steadfast, stubborn, uncompromising, unyielding

Examples from the Web for hard-core

Contemporary Examples of hard-core

Politicians who openly associated with Duke, or his hard-core associates, did so at their own risk.
The Louisiana Racists Who Courted Steve Scalise
Jason Berry
January 3, 2015
“We were taught with Reefer Madness that it was a hard-core drug and we should veer away from it,” she says.
Ganjapreneurs Line Up to Get Florida High
Abby Haglage
July 30, 2014
Eric Cantor lost because hard-core voters think his kind keep selling out to Obama.
Conservatives Are So Conservative They Think the Congressional GOP Are Moderate Squishes
Michael Tomasky
June 13, 2014
Hard-core Moscow supporters like Oleg Tsarev, a local parliament member, were chased out of town with bounties their heads.
The Town Determined to Stop Putin
Vijai Maheshwari
June 12, 2014
That was a great, hard-core, intensive training—not for the camera, but for how to get coverage.
How ‘Transcendence’ Director Wally Pfister Became Christopher Nolan’s Secret Weapon
Andrew Romano
April 17, 2014

Historical Examples of hard-core

This year, the time has come when we must get to those who are last in line--the hard-core unemployed--the hardest to reach.
Complete State of the Union Addresses from 1790 to 2006
Various

British Dictionary definitions for hard-core

hard core

noun

the members of a group or movement who form an intransigent nucleus resisting change

material, such as broken bricks, stones, etc, used to form a foundation for a road, paving, building, etc

adjective hard-core

(of pornography) describing or depicting sexual acts in explicit detail

extremely committed or fanaticala hard-core Communist

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