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tough
[ tuhf ]
adjective
- strong and durable; not easily broken or cut.
Synonyms: ,
Antonyms:
- 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.
Synonyms:
Antonyms: ,
- not easily influenced, as a person; unyielding; stubborn:
a tough man to work for.
Synonyms:
- 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.
tough
/ ʌ /
adjective
- strong or resilient; durable
a tough material
- not tender
he could not eat the tough steak
- having a great capacity for endurance; hardy and fit
a tough mountaineer
- rough or pugnacious
a tough gangster
- resolute or intractable
a tough employer
- difficult or troublesome to do or deal with
a tough problem
- informal.unfortunate or unlucky
it's tough on him
noun
- a rough, vicious, or pugnacious person
adverb
- informal.violently, aggressively, or intractably
to treat someone tough
- hang tough informal.to be or appear to be strong or determined
verb
- slang.tr to stand firm, hold out against (a difficulty or difficult situation) (esp in tough it out )
Derived Forms
- ˈٴdzܲ, adjective
- ˈٴdzܲ, adverb
Other Word Forms
- ٴdzܲl adverb
- ٴdzܲn noun
- p·ٴdzܲ adjective
- ܲ·ٴdzܲ adjective
- un·ٴdzܲl adverb
- un·ٴdzܲn noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of tough1
Word History and Origins
Origin of tough1
Idioms and Phrases
- hang tough, Slang. hang ( def 62 ).
- tough it out, Informal. to endure or resist hardship or adversity.
More idioms and phrases containing tough
- get tough
- gut (tough) it out
- hang tough
- hard (tough) act to follow
- hard (tough) nut to crack
Example Sentences
Add that to his robustness, and he is going to make a tough title rival for anyone.
She served as a judge on “Drag Race Philippines” since its premiere in 2022, tapping into her own experiences to offer competitors tough love and constructive criticism in English and Tagalog.
Though some are weighing whether they want to stay in tech, others find it tough to let go of the high salaries, benefits and perks.
Jimmie Woods-Gray, a member of the city’s fire commission, said that cutting the Equity Bureau is a necessary step in a tough budget year.
Director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies Paul Johnson said the government will face "tough" trade-offs when considering how to award pay.
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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.
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