Synonyms for hard
modified
Compact
solid, unyielding, dense; see firm 2, thick 3.
Difficult
arduous, troublesome, laborious; see difficult 1, 2.
Cruel
perverse, unrelenting, vengeful; see cruel 1, 2.
Persistent or energetic
obdurate, stubborn, tough; see active 2, obstinate 1.
Severe
harsh, exacting, grim; see severe 1, 2.
Alcoholic
intoxicating, inebriating, stimulating; see strong 8.
With difficulty
strenuously, laboriously, with great effort; see carefully 1, vigorously. See syn. study at difficult, firm.
be hard on
treat severely, be harsh toward, be painful to; see abuse 1.
go hard with
See hard in American Heritage Dictionary 4 Synonyms
hard difficult arduous
These adjectives mean requiring great physical or mental effort to do, achieve, or master. Hard is the most general term: “You write with ease to show your breeding,/But easy writing's curst hard reading” (Richard Brinsley Sheridan).
Difficult and hard are interchangeable in many instances. Difficult, however, is often preferable where the need for skill or ingenuity is implied: “All poetry is difficult to read,/—The sense of it is, anyhow” (Robert Browning).
Arduous applies to burdensome labor or sustained physical or spiritual effort: “knowledge at which [Isaac] Newton arrived through arduous and circuitous paths” (Thomas Macaulay).
hard difficult arduous
These adjectives mean requiring great physical or mental effort to do, achieve, or master. Hard is the most general term: “You write with ease to show your breeding,/But easy writing's curst hard reading” (Richard Brinsley Sheridan).
Difficult and hard are interchangeable in many instances. Difficult, however, is often preferable where the need for skill or ingenuity is implied: “All poetry is difficult to read,/—The sense of it is, anyhow” (Robert Browning).
Arduous applies to burdensome labor or sustained physical or spiritual effort: “knowledge at which [Isaac] Newton arrived through arduous and circuitous paths” (Thomas Macaulay).
See hard in Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus II
adjective
Unyielding to pressure or force:
firm1, incompressible, solid. See resist, strongPhysically toughened so as to have great endurance:
hard-bitten, hard-handed, hardy, rugged, tough. Idiom: hard as nails. See continue, strongNot easy to do, achieve, or master:
arduous, difficult, laborious, serious, tall, tough, uphill. See easyRequiring 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 heavyConveying great physical force:
heavy, hefty, powerful, severe. See bigIndulging in drink to an excessive degree:
heavy. (Informal) two-fisted. See excessRigorous and unsparing in treating others:
demanding, exacting, harsh, rigid, severe, stern, strict, tough, unyielding. See easyCold and forbidding:
austere, bleak, dour, grim, harsh, severe, stark. See attitude, hotCausing sharp, often prolonged discomfort:
bitter, brutal, harsh, rough, severe. See comfortCompletely lacking in compassion:
callous, cold-blooded, cold-hearted, compassionless, hard-boiled, hardened, hardhearted, heartless, obdurate, stonyhearted, unfeeling. See attitudeBitingly hostile:
acrimonious, bitter, embittered, rancorous, resentful, virulent. See attitude, loveEstablished beyond a doubt:
certain, inarguable, incontestable, incontrovertible, indisputable, indubitable, irrefutable, positive, sure, unassailable, undeniable, undisputable, unquestionable. See certain, trueBased on fact:
factual. See realHaving 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, realContaining alcohol:
alcoholic, intoxicative, spirituous, strong. See ingestion
adverb
In a violent, strenuous way:
fiercely, frantically, frenziedly, furiously, strenuously. See strongWith effort:
arduously, difficultly, heavily, laboriously. See easyWith intense energy and force:
energetically, forcefully, forcibly, powerfully, vigorously. Idioms: hammer and tongs, tooth and nail, with might and main. See strongTo a point near in time, space, or relation:
close, closely, near, nearby, nigh. See near
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