DEFINITIONadjective1 solid, firm, and resistant to pressure; not easily broken, bent, or pierced: a hard mattress | ground frozen hard as a rock.• (of a person) not showing any signs of weakness; tough: the hard, tough, honest cop.• (of information) reliable, esp. because based on something true or substantiated: hard facts about the underclass are maddeningly elusive.• (of a subject of study) dealing with precise and verifiable facts: efforts to turn psychology into hard science.• (of water) containing mineral salts that make lathering difficult.• (of prices of stock, commodities, etc.) stable or firm in value.• (of science fiction) scientifically accurate rather than purely fantastic or whimsical: a hard SF novel.• (of a consonant) pronounced as cin cator gin go.2 requiring a great deal of endurance or effort: stooping over all day was hard work.• putting a lot of energy into an activity: he'd been a hard worker all his life.• difficult to bear; causing suffering: times were hard at the end of the war | he'd had a hard life.• difficult to understand or solve: this is a really hard question | [ with infinitive ] : she found it hard to believe that he could be involved.• not showing sympathy or affection; strict: my father is no longer the hard man he once was.• (of a season or the weather) severe: it's been a long, hard winter.• harsh or unpleasant to the senses: the hard light of morning.• (of wine) harsh or sharp to the taste, esp. because of tannin.3 done with a great deal of force or strength: a hard blow to the head.4 potent, powerful, or intense, in particular:• (of liquor) strongly alcoholic; denoting distilled spirits rather than beer or wine.• (of apple cider) having alcoholic content from fermentation.• (of a drug) potent and addictive.• denoting an extreme or dogmatic faction within a political party: the hard left.• (of radiation) highly penetrating.• (of pornography) highly obscene and explicit.
adverb
1 with a great deal of effort: they work hard at school.• with a great deal of force; violently: it was raining hard.2 so as to be solid or firm: the mortar has set hard.3 to the fullest extent possible: put the wheel hard overto starboard.
PHRASES
be hard on 1 treat or criticize (someone) severely: you're being too hard on her. 2 be difficult for or unfair to: I think the war must have been hard on her. 3 be likely to hurt or damage: the monitor flickers, which is hard on the eyes.be hard put [ usu. with infinitive ] find it very difficult: you'll be hard put to find a better compromise.give someone a hard time informal deliberately make a situation difficult for someone.go hard with dated turn out to (someone's) disadvantage: it would go hard with the poor.hard and fast (of a rule or a distinction made) fixed and definitive: it is impossible to lay down any hard and fast rules.hard as nails see nail.hard at it informal busily working or occupied: they were hard at it with brooms and mops.hard by close to: he lived hard by the cathedral.hard done by Brit.harshly or unfairly treated: she would be justified in feeling hard done by.hard feelings [ usu. with negative ] feelings of resentment: there are no hard feelings, and we wish him well.hard going difficult to understand or enjoy: the studying is at times hard going.hard hit badly affected: hard hit by falling oil prices.a hard nut to crack see nut.hard of hearing not able to hear well.hard on (or upon)close to; following soon after: we followed hard on their tracks.hard up informal short of money: I'm too hard up to buy fancy clothes.the hard way through suffering or learning from the unpleasant consequences of mistakes: his reputation was earned the hard way.play hard to get informal deliberately adopt an aloof or uninterested attitude, typically in order to make oneself more attractive or interesting.
DERIVATIVES
hardish adjective
ORIGIN Old English hard, heard, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hard and German hart .
Written by NativeEnglish
Native English Spain is dedicated to make learning English simple, fun and affordable for Spanish people.
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