/hahrd"ship/ , n.
1. a condition that is difficult to endure; suffering; deprivation; oppression: a life of hardship.
2. an instance or cause of this; something hard to bear, as a deprivation, lack of comfort, or constant toil or danger: They faced bravely the many hardships of frontier life.
[ 1175-1225; ME; see HARD, -SHIP ]
Syn. 1. trouble, affliction, suffering, misfortune. HARDSHIP, PRIVATION, AUSTERITY refer to a condition hard to endure. HARDSHIP applies to a circumstance in which excessive and painful effort of some kind is required, as enduring acute discomfort from cold, or battling over rough terrain. PRIVATION has particular reference to lack of food, clothing, and other necessities or comforts. AUSTERITY not only includes the ideas of privation and hardship but also implies deliberate control of emotional reactions to these.
Ant. 1. ease.