Synonyms for hard
- adjective
- adverb
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Difficult — having a severe property; presenting difficulty. Difficult or requiring a lot of effort to do, understand…
difficult, trying, rough, arduous, bad, tricky, heavy, laborious, sticky informal, challenging, painful, troublesome, back-breaking, puzzling, knotty, effortful, herculean, deep, nasty, powerful, hard-fought, grueling
2. Unyielding — having a severe property; presenting difficulty. Severe, harsh, unfriendly, brutal
unyielding, hardened, severe, firm, cold, harsh, stiff, rigid, cruel, adamantine formal, inflexible, dense, unrelenting, rigorous, rugged, stony, horny, tight informal, relentless, coarse, callous, stubborn
3. Solid — solid and firm. Resistant to pressure; difficult to break, cut, or penetrate
Other
tough, strong, exhausting, rock-like, calculating, tiresome, concrete
Adverb
Other
Definitions
- adj. 1
Solid and firm. Resistant to pressure; difficult to break, cut, or penetrate.
This bread is so stale and hard, I can barely cut it.
- adj. 2
Having a severe property; presenting difficulty. Difficult or requiring a lot of effort to do, understand, experience, or deal with.
a hard problem; a hard question; a hard topic
- adj. 3
Having a severe property; presenting difficulty. Severe, harsh, unfriendly, brutal.
a hard master; a hard heart; hard words; a hard character
- adv. 1
With much force or effort.
They worked hard all week.
Related words
Choose the right word
Hard applies to anything that resists our endeavors as a scarcely penetrable mass resists our physical force. Anything is hard that involves tax and strain whether of the physical or mental powers.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- trying I came near being drowned, trying to rescue a boy.
- difficult Explain to him the difficult situation you are in.
- tricky It's a tricky task which requires a lot of patience.
- arduous She went through a long and arduous vocational course.
- hardened The cement hardened and restricted Hulk’s movements.
- unyielding His unyielding character doesn't please me at all.
By length
- 3 letters
- bad1
- 4 letters
- deep1, cold1, firm1
- 5 letters
- heavy2, tough1, solid2, tight1, rough1, nasty2, harsh1, cruel2, dense1, stiff1, rigid2, horny2, stony2
- 6 letters
- trying2, strong1, severe2, hardly2, tricky2, sticky2, rugged2, coarse1, knotty2
- 7 letters
- heavily3, painful2, arduous3, callous2
- 8 letters
- powerful3, concrete2, severely3, stubborn2, rigorous3, hardened2, puzzling3, tiresome3, grueling3
- 9 letters
- difficult3, resistant3, painfully3, laborious4, herculean4, effortful
- 10 letters
- exhausting3, relentless3, diligently4, inflexible4, unyielding3, adamantine
- 11 letters
- challenging3, calculating4, troublesome3, unrelenting4, laboriously5
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (heavy2 = 2 syllables).