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
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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
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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.
And if they’re coming to you for money, it’s possible they’re going through enough hardship that even a bank won’t lend to them — but that also means they might struggle to pay you back.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 7, 2026
The former host of Never Mind the Buzzcocks Mark Lamarr has been banned from driving despite claiming it would cause him "exceptional hardship".
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
The research offers new insight into how agriculture reshaped societies and how people coped with long periods of hardship.
From Science Daily • Mar. 21, 2026
Immigrant rights groups said the new federal guidelines create severe economic hardship for immigrant commercial drivers in California, who are lawfully qualified to work but cannot obtain licenses, exacerbating a truck driver shortage.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026
Pa was raised in the country and was accustomed to hardship.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
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.
