Tough

/tʌf/ · adjective

Meaning

(of a material) Strong and resilient; sturdy..

Definitions by Sense

1. (of a material) Strong and resilient; sturdy.
2. (of food) Difficult to cut or chew.
3. (of a person or animal) Rugged or physically hardy.
4. (of a person) Stubborn or persistent; capable of stubbornness or persistence.
5. (of weather, etc.) Harsh or severe.
6. Rowdy or rough.
7. (of questions, etc.) Difficult or demanding.
8. (material science) Undergoing plastic deformation before breaking.

Example Sentences

The tent, made of tough canvas, held up to many abuses.

To soften a tough cut of meat, the recipe suggested simmering it for hours.

Only a tough species will survive in the desert.

But before you quit turkey hunting and take up model-train collecting, let me give you the good news: you can score on tough turkeys. In fact, you can kill the toughest turkey in the woods.

He had a reputation as a tough negotiator.

A bunch of the tough boys from the wrong side of the tracks threatened him.

This is a tough crowd.

1998, Lois Liederman Davitz, Joel Robert Davitz, 20 Tough Questions Teenagers Ask and 20 Tough Answers, Paulist Press, pages 6-7, But let's get back to the tough question about sex before marriage. And this is a tough question. In fact we would rank the question you've both raised as pretty high on our list of tough questions.

Synonyms for tough

Antonyms for tough

Related Words

Word Forms

• tougher
• toughest
• tuff
• toughs
• toughing
• toughed

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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