tough

[ tuhf ]

/ tʌf /

|||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tough ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, tough·er, tough·est.

strong and durable; not easily broken or cut.

not brittle or tender.

difficult to masticate, as food: a tough steak.

of viscous consistency, as liquid or semiliquid matter: tough molasses.

capable of great endurance; sturdy; hardy: tough troops.

not easily influenced, as a person; unyielding; stubborn: a tough man to work for.

hardened; incorrigible: a tough criminal.

difficult to perform, accomplish, or deal with; hard, trying, or troublesome: a tough problem.

hard to bear or endure (often used ironically): tough luck.

vigorous; severe; violent: a tough struggle.

vicious; rough; rowdyish: a tough character; a tough neighborhood.

practical, realistic, and lacking in sentimentality; tough-minded.

Slang. remarkably excellent; first-rate; great.

adverb

in a tough manner.

noun

a ruffian; rowdy.

Nearby words

touchwood, touchy, touchy-feely, touché, touggourt, tough, tough break, tough it out, tough love, tough nut, tough pitch

Idioms

hang tough, Slang. hang(def 56).

tough it out, Informal. to endure or resist hardship or adversity.

Origin of tough

before 900; Middle English (adj.); Old English tōh; compare Dutch taai, German zäh(e)

SYNONYMS FOR tough

1 firm, hard.

5 durable.

6 inflexible.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR tough ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR tough

1 fragile.

5 feeble, weak.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR tough ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

tough·ly, adverbtough·ness, nounsu·per·tough, adjectiveun·tough, adjective

un·tough·ly, adverbun·tough·ness, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for toughness

And despite the training and toughness, the man was struggling to keep his family together.
Hunt for Iraq Vet After Killing Spree|M.L. Nestel|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Right, that toughness was always inside her, like the way she had given up crying.
Exit Interview: The Walking Dead's Beth Tells All|Melissa Leon|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Female candidates once had to prove their toughness above all and never mention their personal lives.
The Gubernatorial Glass Ceiling—and What It Means for Hillary Clinton|Eleanor Clift|June 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Grimes is a smart person who has projected nothing but fear and uncertainty thinly veiled with endless boasts of toughness.
Alison Grimes Will Have to Step It Up to Beat Mitch McConnell|Sam Youngman|November 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST

In this mood, Democrats may care a lot more about toughness and combativeness than about minute gradations of progressiveness.
How Obama is Setting the Stage for Hillary in 2016|David Frum|September 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The king's men then attempted to cut up the boar, but failed, owing to the toughness of his hide.
The Old-Fashioned Fairy Book|Constance Cary Harrison
The latter gives steel its toughness, and enables it to resist greater heat without crystallizing and thus losing its temper.
Earth and Sky Every Child Should Know|Julia Ellen Rogers
What fine old days those were, when the toughness of skin matched so wonderfully the stoutness of heart!
The Gentle Reader|Samuel McChord Crothers
The birch looked tolerably climbable and was amply high; as to toughness, he thought not about it.
Idolatry|Julian Hawthorne
They are not, however, as palatable and differ as to toughness and other physical characteristics.
Human Foods and Their Nutritive Value|Harry Snyder

British Dictionary definitions for toughness (1 of 2)

toughness

/ (ˈtʌfnɪs) /

noun

the quality or an instance of being tough

metallurgy the ability of a metal to withstand repeated twisting and bending, measured by the energy in kilojoules needed to break itSee brittleness (def. 2), softness (def. 2)

British Dictionary definitions for toughness (2 of 2)

tough

/ (tʌf) /

adjective

strong or resilient; durablea tough material

not tenderhe could not eat the tough steak

having a great capacity for endurance; hardy and fita tough mountaineer

rough or pugnaciousa tough gangster

resolute or intractablea tough employer

difficult or troublesome to do or deal witha tough problem

informal unfortunate or unluckyit's tough on him

noun

a rough, vicious, or pugnacious person

adverb

informal violently, aggressively, or intractablyto treat someone tough

hang tough informal to be or appear to be strong or determined

verb

(tr) slang to stand firm, hold out against (a difficulty or difficult situation) (esp in tough it out)

Derived Formstoughish, adjectivetoughly, adverb

Word Origin for tough

Old English tōh; related to Old High German zāhi tough, Old Norse tā trodden ground in front of a house

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for toughness (1 of 2)

tough

adj.

Old English toh "difficult to break or chew," from Proto-Germanic *tankhuz (cf. Middle Low German tege, Middle Dutch taey, Dutch taai, Old High German zach, German zäh). See rough for spelling change.

Figurative sense of "strenuous, difficult, hard to beat" is first recorded c.1200; that of "hard to do, trying, laborious" is from 1610s. Verb tough it "endure the experience" is first recorded 1830, American English. Tough guy first recorded 1932. Tough-minded first recorded 1907 in William James. Tough luck first recorded 1912; tough shit is from 1946.

Word Origin and History for toughness (1 of 2)

tough

"street ruffian," 1866, American English, from tough (adj.).

Idioms and Phrases with toughness

tough

In addition to the idioms beginning with tough

tough break
tough it out
tough nut
tough row to hoe
tough sledding

also see:

get tough
gut (tough) it out
hang tough
hard (tough) act to follow
hard (tough) nut to crack

tough

adjective, tough·er, tough·est.

adverb

noun

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of tough

Examples from the Web for toughness

British Dictionary definitions for toughness (1 of 2)

toughness

noun

British Dictionary definitions for toughness (2 of 2)

tough

adjective

noun

adverb

verb

Word Origin for tough

Word Origin and History for toughness (1 of 2)

tough

Word Origin and History for toughness (1 of 2)

tough

Idioms and Phrases with toughness

tough