adj. 1 rigid, stiff, solid, inflexible, firm, dense, condensed, compressed, close, solidified, hardened; stony, rocklike, concrete, petrified, granite(-like), flinty, steely; tough, rugged, leathery, callous; unyielding, adamant(ine), impenetrable, obdurate, impervious, impregnable The cement gets hard in an hour This steak is as hard as shoe-leather. The metal was so hard that I broke three drills trying to make a hole in it. 2 difficult, laborious, arduous, back-breaking, burdensome, onerous, fatiguing, tiring, exhausting, wearying, strenuous, tough, toilsome Laying track for the railway is a very hard job 3 difficult, perplexing, knotty, puzzling, baffling, enigmatic, intricate, complicated, complex, tangled, involved, thorny, incomprehensible, inscrutable, unsolvable, insoluble, Colloq tough There were a lot of hard questions in the exam 4 stern, cold, callous, intractable, exacting, strict, demanding, hard-hearted, stony-hearted, severe, tyrannical, despotic, dictatorial, magisterial, oppressive, cruel, ruthless, pitiless, merciless, savage, brutal, brutish, inhuman, heartless, harsh, unkind, implacable, unsympathetic, dispassionate, uncompassionate, unfeeling, obdurate, indurate; unsentimental, insensitive, thick-skinned, tough, hard-boiled, stony, hardbitten, unfeeling, unsparing Hemel is a hard taskmaster Of the prison warders, each was harder than the next. He advocates taking a hard line against white-collar crime. 5 bad, difficult, grievous, calamitous, racking, disastrous, dark, grim, distressing, devastating, agonizing, painful, unpleasant, severe, austere, Colloq tough, rough The years of the Great Depression were hard for everyone 6 cool, unemotional, calculating, uncompromising, methodical, critical, systematic, practical, pragmatic, businesslike, realistic, penetrating, searching, hard-headed, Colloq tough, hard-nosed Shareholders should take a hard look at the annual report Chapelle drives a hard bargain. 7 sedulous, assiduous, devoted, conscientious, industrious, indefatigable, untiring, persistent, dogged, intent, eager, zealous, ardent, energetic, keen, avid Galpin is a very hard worker who gets a lot done 8 cold, bare, plain, straight, straightforward, blunt, unvarnished, unquestionable, verifiable, real, indisputable, undeniable, incontestable, incontrovertible, strict, inescapable, ineluctable, unavoidable, unalterable, immutable The hard fact is that the bill has never been paid 9 angry, bitter, acrimonious, hostile, antagonistic, harsh, unpleasant, unfriendly I'm afraid there were some hard words between us 10 spirituous, alcoholic, strong She won't touch hard liquor 11 addictive, habit-forming He later changed from marijuana to hard drugs 12 sharp, well-defined, clear, distinct, stark, definite Note the hard edges of objects in Realist paintings
adv. 13 vigorously, forcefully, forcibly, energetically, mightily, arduously, laboriously, strenuously, earnestly, actively, dynamically, eagerly, intensely, ardently, heartily, zealously, intently, spiritedly, diligently, assiduously, sedulously, studiously, determinedly, steadfastly, conscientiously, industriously, devotedly, urgently, persistently, untiringly, indefatigably, perseveringly, unfalteringly, relentlessly, doggedly They always had to work very hard just to scrape by He's hard at work writing his new book. 14 violently, deeply, intensely, badly, distressingly, painfully, severely, agonizingly Failing the examination hit him quite hard 15 intently, carefully, earnestly The judge thought long and hard before passing sentence 16 harshly, severely, badly, ill It's going to go hard with her if she doesn't change her ways 17 hard up. poor, indigent, poverty-stricken, impoverished, penniless, impecunious, bankrupt, Colloq in the red, broke, bust(ed), on one's uppers, Slang Brit skint He's so hard up he can't afford a decent meal