See Also: hard 1, adjective(dictionary)
Hard Way Bet(casino)
Hard(medicine)
Hard Way(casino)
hard by(dictionary)
hard hat(dictionary)
hard(2)(dictionary)
hard-on(dictionary)
hard(1)(dictionary)
die-hard(dictionary)

hard 1, adjective (oh)



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1 ?firm to touch?
2 ?difficult?
3 ?work/effort?
4 ?full of problems?
5 be hard on somebody
6 be hard on something
7 do something the hard way
8 ?using force?
9 hard evidence/facts/information etc
10 ?unkind?
11 hard going
12 make hard work of something
13 be hard at it/work
14 ?water?
15 hard luck
16 give somebody a hard time
17 have a hard time
18 drive/strike a hard bargain
19 hard feelings
20 take a (long) hard look at something/somebody
21 hard line
22 hard news
23 ?not frightened?
24 (as) hard as nails
25 a hard taskmaster/master
26 a hard winter/frost
27 the hard left/right
28 ?light?
29 ?alcohol?
30 a hard left/right
31 ?pronunciation?
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[Language: Old English; Origin: heard]
?FIRM TO TOUCH?
firm, stiff, and difficult to press down, break, or cut
-opposite soft soft
　a hard wooden chair
　the hardest substance known to man
　After months without rain, the ground was too hard to plough.
?DIFFICULT?
difficult to do or understand
-synonym difficult difficult
-opposite easy easy
　This year's exam was much harder than last year's.
　You'll have to make some hard decisions.
　They're a hard team to beat.
it is hard to believe/imagine/see/know etc
　It was hard to see what else we could have done.
　It's hard to believe that anyone would say something like that.
find it hard to do sth
　I was finding it hard to concentrate.
　Permanent jobs are hard to come by (=difficult to find or get) .
be hard for sb
　It must be hard for her, bringing up three kids on her own.
　Telling my parents is going to be the hardest thing about it.
have a hard time doing sth
(=be difficult for someone to do something)
　You'll have a hard time proving that.
　I had a hard time persuading him to accept the offer.
　Such criticism was hard to take (=difficult to accept) .
?WORK/EFFORT?
[usually before noun] using or involving a lot of mental or physical effort
　To be successful in sport requires hard work and a great deal of determination.
　After a hard day at work, I just want to come home and put my feet up.
a hard day's work/walking/skiing etc
　There's a sauna where you can relax after a hard day's skiing.
　Becoming a doctor never interested him. It was too much like hard work (=it would involve too much work) .
?FULL OF PROBLEMS?
a situation or time that is hard is one in which you have a lot of problems, especially when you do not have enough money
　She's had a hard life .
　 Times were hard and they were forced to sell their house.
　He had clearly fallen on hard times (=did not have much money) .
be hard on sb
a) to criticize someone in a way that is unfair, or to be too strict with them
　Perhaps I'm too hard on her.
b) to have a bad effect on someone
　Divorce can be very hard on children.
be hard on sth
to have a bad effect on something
　Standing all day is very hard on the feet.
do sth the hard way
to learn, achieve, or do something after a bad experience or by making mistakes
　He learned the hard way about the harsh reality of the boxing world.
　Make sure you put the baby's diaper on before you start feeding her. I learned this lesson the hard way .
　He earned his promotion the hard way.
?USING FORCE?
using a lot of force
　Jane gave the door a good hard push.
　She gave him a hard slap.
hard evidence/facts/information etc
facts that are definitely true and can be proved
　There is no hard evidence to support this theory.
?UNKIND?
showing no sympathetic or gentle feelings
　a hard face
　Her voice was hard and cold.
　You're a hard man, John.
hard going
a) difficult to do and needing a lot of effort
　A strong wind made the race very hard going.
b) boring, or difficult to deal with, talk to etc
　I find some of his friends pretty hard going.
make hard work of sth
to make something you are doing seem more difficult than it really is
　Juventus were making hard work of what should have been an easy game.
be hard at it/work
informal to be very busy doing something
　Sarah was hard at it on her computer.
?WATER?
hard water contains a lot of minerals, and does not mix easily with soap
-opposite soft soft
hard luck
a) BrE spoken used to tell someone that you feel sorry for them because they have not succeeded in what they were trying to do
　'I failed my driving test.' 'Oh, hard luck!'
b) when bad things happen to you that are not your fault
　You've had your share of hard luck.
hard luck on
　It was hard luck on you.
c) spoken also hard cheese BrE
used to say that you do not care if someone is having problems, does not like something etc
　If you don't like the idea then hard luck!
　'He doesn't know what to do.' 'Well that's his hard luck!'
give sb a hard time
informal a) to treat someone badly or cause problems for them
　Giving you a hard time, is she?
　They reached the border where officials gave them a hard time.
b) to criticize someone a lot
　Hostile critics have given Hartman a hard time.
have a hard time
to have a lot of problems or bad experiences
　I'm glad she's happy at last - she's had such a hard time.
　Vegetarians still often have a hard time of it when it comes to eating out.
drive/strike a hard bargain
to demand a lot or refuse to give too much when you are making an agreement
　The company is believed to have struck a hard bargain.
hard feelings
a) anger between people because of something that has happened
　We'd known each other too long for hard feelings.
　I have no hard feelings towards Steve.
b) no hard feelings
spoken used to tell someone that you do not want to be angry with them or for them to be angry with you
　I'm sorry it didn't work out, but no hard feelings, eh?
take a (long) hard look at sth/sb
to think carefully about something, especially with the result that you change your opinions or behaviour
　You should take a long hard look at the issues before committing yourself.
　Newspaper editors should take a long hard look at themselves and clean up their act.
hard line
a strict way of dealing with someone or something
　The president should abandon his hard line in the region.
take/adopt a hard line (on sth)
　The school takes a very hard line on drugs.
hard news
news stories that are about serious subjects or events
　TV news programs seem to be more interested in gossip than in hard news.
?NOT FRIGHTENED?
BrE spoken strong, ready to fight, and not afraid of anyone or anything
　He thinks he's really hard.
　Jones was known as soccer's hard man .
(as) hard as nails
someone who is hard as nails seems to have no feelings such as fear or sympathy
a hard taskmaster/master
someone who makes people work too hard
a hard winter/frost
a very cold winter or frost
-opposite mild mild
the hard left/right
people who have extreme left-wing or right-wing political aims and ideas
-synonym far left/right far left/right, extreme extreme
　concerns about the re-emergence of the hard right in some areas
?LIGHT?
especially literary hard light is bright and unpleasant
-synonym harsh harsh
　the hard brilliance of the moonlight
?ALCOHOL?
[only before noun] informal very strong
　hard liquor
　I never touch the hard stuff (=strong alcohol) .
-see also hard drugs
a hard left/right
a big turn to the left or right, for example when you are driving
-synonym sharp sharp
?PRONUNCIATION?
a hard 'c' is pronounced /k/ rather than /s/; a hard 'g' is pronounced /g/ rather than /dz/
-see also soft soft
-- hardness n [U]
　a material that would combine the flexibility of rubber with the hardness of glass
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WORD FOCUS: hard
hard and not bending: solid, firm, stiff, rigid
meat that is too hard: tough
skin that is old and hard: leathery, calloused
hard and easily broken: brittle