I. ˈtəf adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English tow, togh, tough, from Old English tōh; akin to Old High German zāhi tough, Old Norse tā ground trodden to hardness, Old English tengan to press forward, tenge pressing, resting on
1.
a. : having the quality of being strong or firm in texture but flexible and not brittle : yielding to force without breaking : capable of resisting great strain without coming apart
the ligaments of animals are tough
b. : not easily chewed or masticated
steak so tough we could hardly cut it
2. : having great viscosity : glutinous , sticky , tenacious
tough phlegm
tough tar
3.
a. : characterized by severity : stiff , forceful
when the law gets too tough , the courts don't convict — Gregor Felsen
one change will be a tougher boycott ban — S.K.Galpin
b.
(1) : characterized by uncompromising determination : adamant , militant
had something with which to back a tough and inflexible foreign policy — New Statesman & Nation
(2) : aggressive , threatening
the thing to do is get tough with that country — Harry Schwartz
4. : capable of enduring strain, hardship, or severe labor : having or manifesting great physical resistance : unusually sturdy : hardy
the rigorous climate … creates a tough people — Douglas Carruthers
the Scots … were almost without exception very tough fighting men — G.W.Johnson
5. : very hard to influence or move : stubborn , unyielding
they view him … as a tough antagonist — New York Times
insight into certain deep and persistent … traits and into the tough fidelities — Clifton Fadiman
the toughest judge … single-minded and implacable — M.S.Mayer
6. : making unduly heavy or arduous demands : extremely difficult to cope with or comprehend
had been a tough winter — Heywood Broun
found himself in a tough spot — Barnaby Conrad
one of the toughest languages in the world — Albert Hubbell
the work that men do is not the tough part of their lives — G.W.Brace
7. : stubbornly fought : stoutly maintained
had lost a tough contest that went into extra innings — R.O.Boyer
8.
a. : pertinaciously unruly : rowdyish , ruffianly : tending toward viciousness
problem children who were too tough for the other schools — Green Peyton
b. : frequented by rowdy or criminal elements
a patrolman on … the toughest waterfront beat — Current Biography
had a reputation as one of the toughest places in the state — American Guide Series: Nevada
9. : marked by a steely quality : without softness or sentimentality : harshly even brutally realistic
his book is … unbelievable tough — W.H.Auden
a writer … who is tough and blunt and calls a spade a spade — M.D.Geismar
strongly influenced by American writing of the tough school — British Book News
Synonyms: see strong
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
: to bear unflinchingly : endure — used with out
a friend with whom he was toughing the winter out — A.B.Guthrie
been toughing out a dry spell — W.D.Overholser
the boy wanted to tough it out and be a cowboy — Ross Santee
III. noun
( -s )
: a tough person ; especially : rowdy
IV. adverb
: in a tough manner
tried to tell why he and his buddies talked tough — Time
talks tough and insensitively but sends money — A.E.Stevenson b. 1900
V. adjective
slang : excellent : splendid : great — used as a generalized term of approval