hardship

[hahrd-ship]

noun

1. a condition that is difficult to endure; suffering; deprivation; oppression.

   a life of hardship.

   Synonyms: misfortune, suffering, affliction, trouble
   Antonyms: ease

2. 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.

hardship

/ ˈhɑːdʃɪp /

noun

1. conditions of life difficult to endure

2. something that causes suffering or privation

Word History and Origins

Origin of hardship¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English; hard + -ship

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said the government wanted "to bring people who are able to study, not to cause them further pain or hardship" by making students leave family behind.

From BBC

The carefully curated communal experience offered by repertory theaters is enduring the hardships of the box office, even after the pandemic, which led to the demise of some well-known cinemas.

From Los Angeles Times

Skills minister Jacqui Smith says the government "recognises that too many students are facing real financial hardship".

From BBC

She said the university provides more than £7m in bursaries and hardship funds each year, as well as running financial literacy courses and setting up a student essentials larder.

From BBC

In an interview with the Guardian, she described the policy as "spiteful," adding it had "punished and pushed children into hardship".

From BBC

Related Words

• adversity 
• calamity 
• catastrophe 
• danger 
• difficulty 
• disaster 
• discomfort 
• fatigue 
• grief 
• hazard 
• injury 
• misery 
• misfortune 
• oppression 
• peril 
• persecution 
• sorrow 
• suffering 
• torment 
• trouble