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tough - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'tough' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Tough [ superl.]
- Having the quality of flexibility without brittleness; yielding to force without breaking; capable of resisting great strain; as, the ligaments of animals are remarkably tough.
- Not easily broken; able to endure hardship; firm; strong; as, tough sinews.
- Not easily separated; viscous; clammy; tenacious; as, tough phlegm.
- Stiff; rigid; not flexible; stubborn; as, a tough bow.
- Severe; violent; as, a tough storm.

Meaning of 'tough' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . tough [ a]
Meaning (1):
- not given to gentleness or sentimentality
Example in sentence:
  • a tough character
Meaning (2):
- physically toughened
Example in sentence:
  • the tough bottoms of his feet
3 . tough [ s]
Meaning (3):
- making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe
Example in sentence:
  • a baffling problem;
  • a problematic situation at home;
  • I faced the knotty problem of what to have for breakfast
Meaning (4):
- very difficult; severely testing stamina or resolution
Example in sentence:
  • a rugged competitive examination;
  • it was a tough job;
  • it's a tough life;
  • the competition was tough;
  • the rugged conditions of frontier life
Meaning (5):
- substantially made or constructed
Example in sentence:
  • a tough all-weather fabric;
  • some plastics are as tough as metal;
  • sturdy canvas;
  • sturdy steel shelves
Meaning (6):
- unfortunate or hard to bear
Example in sentence:
  • a tough break;
  • had hard luck
Meaning (7):
- feeling physical discomfort or pain (`tough' is occasionally used colloquially for `bad')
Example in sentence:
  • he was feeling tough after a restless night;
  • my throat feels bad;
  • she felt bad all over
Meaning (8):
- violent and lawless
Example in sentence:
  • the more ruffianly element;
  • tough street gangs

Nearby Words:

toucan touch touch-box touch-me-not touch-needle touch-paper touchable touchback touchdown touched

See 'tough' also in:

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Related Definitions

  • Tough-minded
    Tough-minded is a description by the American psychologist William James of one side of a personality dimension (the other being tender-minded). It implies a materialistic

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