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 hardcore 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.
unswervingly committed; uncompromising; dedicated.
a hard-core segregationist.
relating to or containing sexually arousing depictions that are very graphic or explicit.
hard-core pornography.
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 hardcore 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.
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
(of pornography) describing or depicting sexual acts in explicit detail
extremely committed or fanatical
a hard-core Communist
First recorded in 1935–40
First recorded in 1950–55
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Many inside the movement said it should be less confrontational and disruptive but a hard core of activists argued it would be more effective to double down on direct action.
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2025
Back in the old days, shoppers would find coupons in their Sunday newspaper, and hard core couponers would buy several papers to maximize value.
From Salon ● Feb. 11, 2025
“It was just a waste of time, because you were never going to persuade the hard core to change their position.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2023
And I was so hard core back then when I first started auditioning that I just kind of tucked away into a corner.
From New York Times ● Aug. 15, 2022
But the few hundred who stayed were the hard core of the Tang people—the stubbornest, orner- iest individuals, who were getting tired of being pushed around.
From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep
The most hard-core committed football fan who has no other commitments in life - or at least a very understanding family - could go for the full American.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
Too many lines of code to analyze, armies of AI assistants to wrangle, and lengthy prompts to draft are among the laments by hard-core AI adopters.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
At the initial stages only hard-core opponents of the regime take to the streets and face the consequences.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 12, 2026
It’s easy to be cynical about hard-core fandom, especially the more parasocial folds.
From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2025
“Brandon, your mom told me you’re a pretty hard-core reader,” her mother said.
From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson
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.
