hard
Americanadjective
-
harder,
comparative
-
hardest
superlative
-
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
-
firmly formed; tight.
a hard knot.
-
difficult to do or accomplish; fatiguing; troublesome.
a hard task.
- Synonyms:
- exhausting, wearisome, onerous, toilsome
- Antonyms:
- easy
-
difficult or troublesome with respect to an action, situation, person, etc..
hard to please;
a hard time.
- Antonyms:
- easy
-
difficult to deal with, manage, control, overcome, or understand.
a hard problem.
- Antonyms:
- easy
-
involving a great deal of effort, energy, or persistence.
hard labor;
hard study.
- Antonyms:
- easy
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- tempestuous, stormy
-
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.
- Synonyms:
- exacting, strict, austere, stern, unpitying, unyielding, adamant, obdurate, relentless
-
difficult to explain away; undeniable.
hard facts.
- Synonyms:
- incontrovertible
-
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. stingy; mean.
hard with money.
-
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.
-
(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.
-
(of c andg ) 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.
-
(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.
-
(of the penis) erect.
adverb
-
with great exertion; with vigor or violence; strenuously.
to work hard;
to try hard;
to fight back 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.
idioms
-
hard up,
-
urgently in need of money.
-
feeling a lack or need.
The country is hard up for technicians and doctors.
-
-
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 put, in great perplexity or difficulty; at a loss.
We were hard put to finish the examination in one hour.
-
hard of hearing. see hard of hearing.
adjective
-
firm or rigid; not easily dented, crushed, or pierced
-
toughened by or as if by physical labour; not soft or smooth
hard hands
-
difficult to do or accomplish; arduous
a hard task
-
difficult to understand or perceive
a hard question
-
showing or requiring considerable physical or mental energy, effort, or application
hard work
a hard drinker
-
stern, cold, or intractable
a hard judge
-
exacting; demanding
a hard master
-
harsh; cruel
a hard fate
-
inflicting pain, sorrow, distress, or hardship
hard times
-
tough or adamant
a hard man
-
forceful or violent
a hard knock
-
cool or uncompromising
we took a long hard look at our profit factor
-
indisputable; real
hard facts
-
chem (of water) impairing the formation of a lather by soap See hardness
-
practical, shrewd, or calculating
he is a hard man in business
-
too harsh to be pleasant
hard 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, etc
the hard stuff
-
(of a drug such as heroin, morphine, or cocaine) highly addictive Compare soft
-
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
-
(of goods) durable
-
(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 extreme
the hard left
-
informal incorrigible or disreputable (esp in the phrase a hard case )
-
(of bread, etc) stale and old
-
-
a person not easily persuaded or won over
-
a thing not easily understood
-
-
near; close by
-
a tough worker at anything
-
unfairly or badly treated
-
informal
-
in need of money; poor
-
(foll by for) in great need (of)
hard up for suggestions
-
-
informal to ask or demand something from
adverb
-
with great energy, force, or vigour
the team always played hard
-
as far as possible; all the way
hard left
-
with application; earnestly or intently
she thought hard about the formula
-
with great intensity, force, or violence
his son's death hit him hard
-
close; near
hard on his heels
-
(foll by at) assiduously; devotedly
-
-
with effort or difficulty
their victory was hard won
-
( in combination )
hard-earned
-
-
slowly and reluctantly
prejudice dies hard
-
to cause pain or difficulty to (someone)
it will go hard with you if you don't tell the truth
-
working hard
-
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
-
a roadway across a foreshore
-
slang hard labour
-
slang an erection of the penis (esp in the phrase get or have a hard on )
Synonym Usage
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.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of hard
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” ( see -cracy), from the Proto-Indo-European root kar-, ker- “hard”
Explanation
Hard is the opposite of "easy." If you're just beginning an exercise routine, don't push yourself too hard in the beginning, to avoid injury. Hard can mean "difficult," but it can also mean "rigid." A hard surface is one that doesn’t give way, like stone. If things are tough for you, you might tell someone you’re having a hard day. If someone gives you hard liquor, watch out — that’s the strong stuff. If you’re a teacher, you want to make your examinations hard enough to be challenging, but not impossible. If you’re stubborn, people might call you hardheaded.
Vocabulary lists containing hard
"Mother to Son"
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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.
See Examples For:
Yet Jason Elliott, a consultant who helped craft the measure, said proponents were outspent 2 to 1 on paid advertising, “making it hard to compete.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2026
Good therapists can be awfully hard to find.
From Slate ● Nov. 11, 2026
"But if the reality of death is hard to face, then making a living is even harder," said the 52-year-old, speaking under a pseudonym for security reasons.
From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2026
"It's very hard for me. I thought I was getting into a marriage and instead I got into my worst nightmare," she said.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026
The twinge in my gut makes it hard to swallow another bite.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
"But if the reality of death is hard to face, then making a living is even harder," said the 52-year-old, speaking under a pseudonym for security reasons.
From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2026
“For brands that are stuck in the middle, like Children’s Place, it becomes harder to stand out,” she said.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 10, 2026
The denser, stickier regions deeper inside are much harder for bacteria to penetrate.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2026
New data center moratoriums are poised to make it harder for America’s AI darlings to secure computing power.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 8, 2026
“Those were harder to study for. I got sick!”
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
A generation being written off as a cost center is outspending younger generations in the exact categories companies compete hardest to win.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 10, 2026
It was, he said, "one of the hardest races of the year in terms of focus needed every lap and therefore one of the best".
From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2026
It was the hardest part of their life, and it was the worst time in their life.
From Slate ● Nov. 8, 2026
Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar are hardest hit; Qatar’s real GDP is down more than 15% this year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
She could try her very hardest and still end up sharing a tank with her toad.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
