- hard
- [[t]hɑ͟ː(r)d[/t]]
♦harder, hardest1) ADJ-GRADED Something that is hard is very firm and stiff to touch and is not easily bent, cut, or broken.
He shuffled his feet on the hard wooden floor...
Something cold and hard pressed into the back of his neck.
Ant:Derived words:2) ADJ-GRADED: oft it v-link ADJ to-inf, ADJ to-inf Something that is hard is very difficult to do or deal with.It's hard to tell what effect this latest move will have...
She found it hard to accept some of the criticisms directed towards her and her work...
Our traveller's behaviour on the journey is hard to explain...
That's a very hard question.
Syn:Ant:3) ADV-GRADED: ADV after v If you work hard doing something, you are very active or work intensely, with a lot of effort.I'll work hard. I don't want to let him down...
Am I trying too hard?.
ADJ-GRADED: ADJ nHard is also an adjective.I admired him as a true scientist and hard worker.
4) ADJ-GRADED Hard work involves a lot of activity and effort.Coping with three babies is very hard work.
...a hard day's work...
Their work is hard and unglamorous, and most people would find it boring.
5) ADV-GRADED: ADV after v If you look, listen, or think hard, you do it carefully and with a great deal of attention.He looked at me hard...
You had to listen hard to hear the old man breathe...
People are having to think hard about their holiday plans.
ADJ-GRADED: usu ADJ nHard is also an adjective.It might be worth taking a long hard look at your frustrations and resentments.
6) ADV-GRADED: ADV after v If you strike or take hold of something hard, you strike or take hold of it with a lot of force.I kicked a dustbin very hard and broke my toe.
ADJ-GRADED: ADJ nHard is also an adjective.He gave her a hard push which toppled her backwards into an armchair.
7) ADV-GRADED: ADV after v You can use hard to indicate that something happens intensely and for a long time.I've never seen Terry laugh so hard...
It was snowing hard by then.
8) ADJ-GRADED: usu ADJ n If a person or their expression is hard, they show no kindness or sympathy.His father was a hard man...
Kate realized that the previous hard look on Maggie's face had been a mask.
Ant:9) ADJ-GRADED: v-link ADJ on n If you are hard on someone, you treat them severely or unkindly.Don't be so hard on him.
Ant:ADV-GRADED: ADV after vHard is also an adverb.He said the security forces would continue to crack down hard on the protestors.
10) ADJ-GRADED: v-link ADJ on n If you say that something is hard on a person or thing, you mean it affects them in a way that is likely to cause them damage or suffering.The grey light was hard on the eyes...
These last four years have been hard on them.
11) ADJ-GRADED If you have a hard life or a hard period of time, your life or that period is difficult and unpleasant for you.It had been a hard life for her...
Those were hard times.
Syn:Derived words:12) ADJ-GRADED: usu ADJ n A hard winter or a hard frost is a very cold one....a prolonged period of hard frost...
I am expecting a long, hard winter.
Ant:13) ADJ-GRADED: usu ADJ n Hard colours or sounds are harsh or bright and unpleasant to see or hear.The sea was a hard blue.
14) ADJ: ADJ n Hard evidence or facts are definitely true and do not need to be questioned.He wanted more hard evidence...
There are probably fewer hard facts about the life of Henry Purcell than that of any other great composer since the Renaissance.
15) ADJ-GRADED Hard water contains a lot of calcium compounds that stop soap making bubbles and sometimes appear as a deposit in kettles and baths.Ant:16) ADJ: ADJ n Hard drugs are very strong illegal drugs such as heroin or cocaine.17) ADJ In phonetics, a hard sound is one such as `c' or `g' as pronounced in the words `cat' or `give', and not as in the words `cinema' or `general'.Ant:18) PHR-PREP If one thing is hard by another, it is very close to it. [OLD-FASHIONED]Paradise Street was a short, crowded street near the railway station and hard by the factory.
19) PHRASE: v-link PHR If you feel hard done by, you feel that you have not been treated fairly. [BRIT]The hall porter was feeling hard done by at having to extend his shift.
20) PHRASE: usu v-link PHR If you say that something is hard going, you mean it is difficult and requires a lot of effort.The talks had been hard going at the start.
21) PHRASE: usu v-link PHR To be hard hit by something means to be affected very severely by it.California's been particularly hard hit by the recession.
22) PHRASE: V inflects If someone plays hard to get, they pretend not to be interested in another person or in what someone is trying to persuade them to do.I wanted her and she was playing hard to get.
23) PHRASE: usu v-link PHR to-inf If someone is hard put to do something or, in British English if they are hard pushed to do something, they have great difficulty doing it.Mr Morton is undoubtedly cleverer than Mr Kirkby, but he will be hard put to match his popularity.
24) PHRASE: V inflects If you take something hard, you are very upset or depressed by it.Maybe I just took it too hard.
25) PHRASE: V inflects If you learn something the hard way, you have to make mistakes or face difficulties before you can improve the way that you do things or improve your behaviour.Wales' young stars are learning the hard way that mistakes at international level are ruthlessly punished.
English dictionary. 2008.
