hard

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

adj. firm, rigid (see hardness); unsympathetic, unloving, unfriendly, callous; strenuous, difficult, puzzling; severe, serious, short, intensive. See insensibility. Ant., soft.

II

(Roget's IV) modif.

1. [Compact]

Syn. solid, unyielding, dense; see firm 2 , thick 3 .

2. [Difficult]

Syn. arduous, troublesome, laborious; see difficult 1 , 2 .

3. [Cruel]

Syn. perverse, unrelenting, vengeful; see cruel 1 , 2 .

4. [Persistent or energetic]

Syn. obdurate, stubborn, tough; see active 2 , obstinate 1 .

5. [Severe]

Syn. harsh, exacting, grim; see severe 1 , 2 .

6. [Alcoholic]

Syn. intoxicating, inebriating, stimuLating; see strong 8 .

7. [With difficulty]

Syn. strenuously, laboriously, with Great effort; see carefully 1 , vigorously .

See Synonym Study at difficult , firm .

• be hard on,

Syn. treat severely, be harsh toward, be painful to; see abuse 1 .

• go hard with,

Syn. be difficult, hinder, plague; see oppress .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus) a.

1. firm rigid, stiff, rock-solid, stony, inflexible, concrete, set, compacted, like iron, like steel, unyielding, impregnable.

2. difficult arduous, demanding, tough, laborious, burdensome, exhausting, strenuous, back-breaking, rigorous, painstaking, Herculean, *murder, draining.

3. complicated complex, knotty, involved, incomprehensible, perplexing, bewildering, thorny.

4. strong powerful, severe, heavy.

5. unfeeling callous, unfriendly, hostile, cold, merciless, harsh, cruel, hard-boiled, hard-hearted, unsympathetic, pitiless, ruthless, unrelenting.

6. harsh rough, severe, trying, intolerable, unbearable, torturous, insufferable, difficult, bad.

ANT.: 1. soft, pliable, flexible. 2, 3. easy, simple, effortless. 4. weak, light. 5. warm, sympathetic, compassionate. 6. soft, easy, mild

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I adjective 1. Unyielding to pressure or force: firm1, incompressible, solid. See RESIST, STRONG. 2. Physically toughened so as to have great endurance: hard-bitten, hard-handed, hardy, rugged, tough. Idiom: hard as nails. See CONTINUE, STRONG. 3. Not easy to do, achieve, or master: arduous, difficult, laborious, serious, tall, tough, uphill. See EASY. 4. Requiring great or extreme bodily, mental, or spiritual strength: arduous, backbreaking, burdensome, demanding, difficult, effortful, exacting, exigent, formidable, heavy, laborious, onerous, oppressive, rigorous, rough, severe, taxing, tough, trying, weighty. See HEAVY. 5. Conveying great physical force: heavy, hefty, powerful, severe. See BIG. 6. Indulging in drink to an excessive degree: heavy. Informal: two-fisted. See EXCESS. 7. Rigorous and unsparing in treating others: demanding, exacting, harsh, rigid, severe, stern, strict, tough, unyielding. See EASY. 8. Cold and forbidding: austere, bleak, dour, grim, harsh, severe, stark. See ATTITUDE, HOT. 9. Causing sharp, often prolonged discomfort: bitter, brutal, harsh, rough, severe. See COMFORT. 10. Completely lacking in compassion: callous, cold-blooded, cold-hearted, compassionless, hard-boiled, hardened, hardhearted, heartless, obdurate, stonyhearted, unfeeling. See ATTITUDE. 11. Bitingly hostile: acrimonious, bitter, embittered, rancorous, resentful, virulent. See ATTITUDE, LOVE. 12. Established beyond a doubt: certain, inarguable, incontestable, incontrovertible, indisputable, indubitable, irrefutable, positive, sure, unassailable, undeniable, undisputable, unquestionable. See CERTAIN, TRUE. 13. Based on fact: factual. See REAL. 14. Having or indicating an awareness of things as they really are: down-to-earth, hardheaded, matter-of-fact, objective, practical, pragmatic, pragmatical, prosaic, realistic, sober, tough-minded, unromantic. See EXCITE, REAL. 15. Containing alcohol: alcoholic, intoxica-tive, spirituous, strong. See INGESTION. II adverb 1. In a violent, strenuous way: fiercely, frantically, frenziedly, furiously, strenuously. See STRONG. 2. With effort: arduously, difficultly, heavily, laboriously. See EASY. 3. With intense energy and force: energetically, forcefully, forcibly, powerfully, vigorously. Idioms: hammer and tongs, tooth and nail, with might and main. See STRONG. 4. To a point near in time, space, or relation: close, closely, near, nearby, nigh. See NEAR.