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• hardy
  hardy

  adjective

  capable of enduring fatigue, hardship, exposure, etc.; sturdy; strong.
• Hardy
  Hardy

  noun

  Godfrey Harold, 1877–1947, English mathematician.

hardy

¹ American  

[hahr-dee] / ˈhɑr di /

adjective

• hardier,
  comparative
• hardiest
  superlative

1. capable of enduring fatigue, hardship, exposure, etc.; sturdy; strong.

   hardy explorers of northern Canada.

   Synonyms:

   sound, stout, hale, robust, vigorous

   Antonyms:

   weak

2. (of plants) able to withstand the cold of winter in the open air.

3. requiring great physical courage, vigor, or endurance.

   the hardiest sports.

4. bold or daring; courageous.

   hardy soldiers.

   Synonyms:

   brave, resolute, intrepid

   Antonyms:

   timid

5. unduly bold; presumptuous; foolhardy.

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hardy ² American  

[hahr-dee] / ˈhɑr di /

noun

• hardies
  plural

1. a chisel or fuller with a square shank for insertion into a square hole hardy hole in a blacksmith's anvil.

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Hardy ³ American  

[hahr-dee] / ˈhɑr di /

noun

1. Godfrey Harold, 1877–1947, English mathematician.

2. Oliver, 1892–1957, U.S. motion-picture comedian.

3. Thomas, 1840–1928, English novelist and poet.

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hardy ¹ British  

/ ˈhɑːdɪ /

adjective

1. having or demanding a tough constitution; robust

2. bold; courageous

3. foolhardy; rash

4. (of plants) able to live out of doors throughout the winter

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Hardy ² British  

/ ˈhɑːdɪ /

noun

1. Oliver. See Laurel and Hardy

2. Thomas. 1840–1928, British novelist and poet. Most of his novels are set in his native Dorset (part of his fictional Wessex) and include Far from the Madding Crowd (1874), The Return of the Native (1878), The Mayor of Casterbridge (1886), Tess of the d'Urbervilles (1891), and Jude the Obscure (1895), after which his work consisted chiefly of verse

3. Sir Thomas Masterman. 1769–1839, British naval officer, flag captain under Nelson (1799–1805): 1st Sea Lord (1830)

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hardy ³ British  

/ ˈhɑːdɪ /

noun

1. any blacksmith's tool made with a square shank so that it can be lodged in a square hole in an anvil

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• hardies
  plural

Adjectives

• hardier
  comparative
• hardiest
  superlative

Etymology

Origin of hardy¹

1175–1225; Middle English hardi < Old French, past participle of *hardir to harden, make brave < Germanic; compare Gothic -hardjan, Old High German hartjan to harden

Origin of hardy²

First recorded in 1865–70; hard + -y ²

Explanation

Hardy means tough––if you're hardy, you don't get tired easily and can endure hardship. People who don't catch cold often attribute this fact to their coming from hardy farming stock. Before 1200, hardy indicated boldness and daring in battle and was probably influenced by hard. Warriors are hardy: they’re brave and strong and don’t easily tire. Plants and animals can also be hardy if they can survive harsh weather or poor growing conditions. When planting a lawn, you should pick hardy species of grass, which will survive droughts and come back after long, cold winters.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hardy Hardy hardies hardier hardiest

The hardy souls who join Garry in his more outlandish acts—and seem to have a fine time doing so—deserve some souvenir to show the grandkids their brief moment of theatrical fame, or infamy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

And then, even after the departure of many hardy attendees who had made it through the whole event, he remained.

From Slate ● Aug. 25, 2026

But “Doctor Who” is a hardy plant, an institution in two centuries.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

Australia has long supposed that its troops are the kind you want to be fighting alongside, but also fighting against: effective, hardy, brave and loyal while being fair and ethical.

From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2026

First he would do his exercises and run around the ouse, oblivious to the taunts of the hardy peasants looking on.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

Dominik Hardy gets his second TD pass on nice catch from Jayden Campos.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Any citizen who steps out of line risks the ire of an even dumber police force, riding around in cruisers that lift their design language from Ed Hardy clothing.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026

Former athlete Andre Hardy weaves the dark side of San Diego and Buddhist principles in his compelling debut “Tear the City Down.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

There’s still no official word on a possible Season 3, though, or whether Hardy would be involved in that.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

A prop—a lamp that is to sit on an end table in the Hardy family living room—breaks backstage.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

I asked Jennings to show me some of his favorite hardies.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 29, 2021

Softies and hardies have been fighting for as long as I can remember.

From Scientific American ● Apr. 4, 2013

Tulips bloom in February and March; Daffodils, German Iris, and other hardies from February to May; also Lilies-of-the-Valley, which latter are more scarce on account of the dryness of the atmosphere.

From Beautiful Gardens in America by Louise Shelton

Eventually, the noise came back, and the national sense of shared shock and grief morphed into something uglier, hardier, and less focused.

From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2026

Cartoonish horseplay would have gotten a hardier laugh.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2025

These conditions led to slow-growing tall trees with deeper rooting systems able to access the water, making them hardier in the face of drought, Chen said.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2024

The first Zebus arrived in Brazil in the latter half of the 19th century and they proved far hardier than European stock.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 3, 2024

Either because they were quicker and hardier, or because of some plan of Grishnákh’s, the Isengarders gradually passed through the Orcs of Mordor, and Grishnákh’s folk closed in behind.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

There will always be those hardiest of Caddyshack souls prepared to battle 40mph winds and driving rain, bunting their ball down muddy fairways and putting across soaked greens.

From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2026

Those who travel during the holidays are used to long trips, but only the hardiest would try a 1,900-mile van ride.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 25, 2024

Studies show that when the ice-free period extends to six months, even the hardiest Hudson Bay bears, generally healthy adult males, will struggle to survive.

From New York Times ● Jun. 13, 2024

Indeed, pesticides had been so effective at killing all but the hardiest of bed bugs that some Americans were surprised when they returned, starting in the early 2000s.

From Salon ● Mar. 13, 2024

But about the Gate resistance still was stout, and there the knights of Dol Amroth and the hardiest of the garrison stood at bay.

From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien