Word Study
tough
CIDE DICTIONARY
tough, a. [OE. tough, AS. t, akin to D. taai, LG. taa, tage, tau, OHG. z, G. z, and also to AS. getenge near to, close to, oppressive, OS. bitengi.].
- 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. Milton. [1913 Webster]
- Not easily broken; able to endure hardship; firm; strong; -- of objects and people; as, tough sinews. Cowper. [1913 Webster]"A body made of brass, the crone demands, . . .
Tough to the last, and with no toil to tire." [1913 Webster]"The basis of his character was caution combined with tough tenacity of purpose." [1913 Webster] - Not easily separated; viscous; clammy; tenacious; as, tough phlegm. [1913 Webster]
- Stiff; rigid; not flexible; stubborn; as, a tough bow. [1913 Webster]"So tough a frame she could not bend." [1913 Webster]
- Severe; violent; as, a tough storm. Fuller. [1913 Webster]
- Difficult to do, perform, or accomplish; as, a tough job. [PJC]
- Prone to aggressive or violent behavior; rowdyish; -- of people, or groups; as, a tough neighborhood; a tough character. [PJC]
tough, n.
A person who is tough{7}; a ruffian; a thug; as, a cluster of neighborhood toughs hanging out on the corner. [PJC]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
tough, adj. & n.
--adj.
1 hard to break, cut, tear, or chew; durable; strong.
2 (of a person) able to endure hardship; hardy.
3 unyielding, stubborn, difficult (it was a tough job; a tough customer).
4 colloq. a acting sternly; hard (get tough with). b (of circumstances, luck, etc.) severe, unpleasant, hard, unjust.
5 colloq. criminal or violent (tough guys).
--n. a tough person, esp. a ruffian or criminal.
--adj.
1 hard to break, cut, tear, or chew; durable; strong.
2 (of a person) able to endure hardship; hardy.
3 unyielding, stubborn, difficult (it was a tough job; a tough customer).
4 colloq. a acting sternly; hard (get tough with). b (of circumstances, luck, etc.) severe, unpleasant, hard, unjust.
5 colloq. criminal or violent (tough guys).
--n. a tough person, esp. a ruffian or criminal.
Idiom
tough guy colloq.
1 a hard unyielding person.
2 a violent aggressive person. tough it (or tough it out) colloq. endure or withstand difficult conditions. tough-minded realistic, not sentimental. tough-mindedness being tough-minded.
1 a hard unyielding person.
2 a violent aggressive person. tough it (or tough it out) colloq. endure or withstand difficult conditions. tough-minded realistic, not sentimental. tough-mindedness being tough-minded.
Derivative
toughen v.tr. & intr. toughener n. toughish adj. toughly adv. toughness n.
Etymology
OE toh
THESAURUS
tough
Antaeus, Atlas, Briareus, Brobdingnagian, Charles Atlas, Cyclops, Goliath, Herculean, Hercules, Mafioso, OK, Polyphemus, Samson, Spartan, Spartanic, Superman, Tarzan, Titan, Young Turk, abiding, abstruse, ace-high, acute, adamant, adamantine, adherent, adhesive, age-long, aged, amylaceous, ancient, antique, arbitrary, arduous, astringent, athletic, austere, authoritarian, backbreaking, bad, baffling, bang-up, battler, beast, beldam, belligerent, belted knight, berserk, berserker, beyond one, bickerer, blade, bomber, bony, bonzer, boss, bravo, brawler, brawny, bruiser, brutal, brute, bulky, bulldogged, bulldoggish, bulldoggy, bullheaded, bully, bullyboy, burdensome, burly, but good, callous, cartilaginous, cement, cemental, chewy, chronic, clabbered, clammy, clingy, clotted, coagulated, cohesive, cold, colossus, combatant, competitor, complex, complicated, concrete, confirmed, constant, contender, contestant, continuing, cool, coriaceous, corking, corneous, crabbed, crackerjack, cramp, critical, crushing, curdled, cutting, dandy, delicate, delicious, demanding, demon, dense, devil, diamondlike, difficile, difficult, disputant, diuturnal, doughty, doughy, dour, dragon, drastic, ducky, duelist, durable, dure, effortful, enduring, enforcer, evergreen, exacting, excessive, exigent, exorbitant, extravagant, extreme, fab, fencer, feuder, fibrous, fiend, fierce, fighter, fighting cock, fine and dandy, fire-eater, firebrand, firm, fixed, flintlike, flinty, foilsman, forced, formidable, furious, fury, game, gamecock, gamy, garbled, gaumy, gear, gelatinous, giant, gladiator, glairy, gluelike, gluey, glutenous, glutinose, glutinous, gooey, goon, gorilla, granitelike, granitic, great, grim, gristly, gritty, groovy, grueling, grumous, gumbo, gumbolike, gumlike, gummous, gummy, gun, gunsel, gutsy, gutty, hairy, hard, hard as nails, hard to understand, hard-bitten, hard-boiled, hard-earned, hard-fought, hard-line, hard-nosed, hard-set, hardened, hardhearted, hardnose, hardy, harsh, hatchet man, heavy, hefty, hell-raiser, hellcat, hellhound, hellion, holy terror, hood, hoodlum, hooligan, horny, hot, hothead, hotspur, hunky-dory, icy, immoderate, immutable, incendiary, inflexible, inspissated, intemperate, intense, intractable, intransient, intrepid, intricate, inured, inveterate, irksome, iron-hard, ironlike, jam-up, jawbreaking, jelled, jellied, jellylike, jouster, jumbled, just dandy, keen, killer, killing, knight, knotted, knotty, labored, laborious, lapideous, lasting, leatherlike, leathery, lithoid, lithoidal, long-lasting, long-lived, long-standing, long-term, longeval, longevous, macrobiotic, mad dog, madcap, manly, marble, marblelike, marvy, massive, mean, meticulous, mettlesome, militant, monster, mucilaginous, mucker, mug, mugger, muscle man, muscular, mystifying, narrow, neat, nervy, nifty, no picnic, nobby, not easy, obdurate, obfuscated, obscure, obscured, obstinate, of long duration, of long standing, okay, onerous, operose, oppressive, osseous, out of sight, outrageous, overtechnical, painful, pasty, peachy, peachy-keen, perdurable, perduring, perennial, permanent, perpetual, perplexed, perplexing, persistent, persisting, pertinacious, piercing, plucky, plug-ugly, powerful, powerhouse, procrustean, punishing, punk, puzzling, quarreler, rapist, red-blooded, refractory, remaining, resistant, resistive, resolute, revolutionary, rigid, rigorous, rioter, ripping, rival, rocklike, rocky, rodman, ropy, rough, roughneck, rowdy, ruffian, rugged, rum, sabreur, savage, scrambled, scrapper, scrumptious, scuffler, self-adhesive, sempervirent, set with thorns, severe, sharp, she-wolf, sinewy, slabby, slap-up, slimy, slithery, smashing, solid, something else, sound, spiffing, spiffy, spiny, spirited, spiritful, spitfire, splitting, spunky, squabbler, stable, stalwart, starchy, staying, steadfast, steady, steellike, steely, steep, stern, stickable, sticky, stiff, stodgy, stonelike, stony, stout, strained, strapping, strenuous, strict, stringent, stringy, strong, strong arm, strong man, strong-arm man, strong-armer, struggler, stubborn, stunning, sturdy, substantial, swashbuckler, swell, sword, swordplayer, swordsman, syrupy, tacky, taut, taxing, tenacious, termagant, terror, terrorist, the mighty, the strong, thick, thickened, thorny, thug, ticklish, tiger, tigress, tilter, toilsome, torpedo, tough as leather, tough guy, tower of strength, tremelloid, tremellose, tricky, trigger man, troublesome, tussler, ugly customer, unalterable, unbending, unbreakable, uncaring, uncompromising, unconscionable, underprivileged, unfading, unfeeling, ungiving, unsentimental, unsparing, unsympathetic, untiring, unyielding, uphill, vehement, venomous, vigorous, violent, virago, virile, virulent, viscid, viscose, viscous, vital, vixen, wearisome, well-built, well-constructed, well-founded, well-grounded, well-made, wicked, wild beast, wiry, witch, withstanding, wizard, wolf, wrangler, yahooROGET THESAURUS
tough
Coherence
N coherence, adherence, adhesion, adhesiveness, concretion accretion, conglutination, agglutination, agglomeration, aggregation, consolidation, set, cementation, sticking, soldering, connection, dependence, tenacity, toughness, stickiness, inseparability, inseparableness, bur, remora, conglomerate, concrete, cohesive, adhesive, adhering, cohering, tenacious, tough, sticky, united, unseparated, unsessile, inseparable, inextricable, infrangible, compact.Difficulty
N difficulty, hardness, impracticability, tough work, hard work, uphill work, hard task, Herculean task, Augean task, task of Sisyphus, Sisyphean labor, tough job, teaser, rasper, dead lift, dilemma, embarrassment, deadlock, perplexity, intricacy, entanglement, complexity, cross fire, awkwardness, delicacy, ticklish card to play, knot, Gordian knot, dignus vindice nodus, net, meshes, maze, coil, crooked path, involvement, nice point, delicate point, subtle point, knotty point, vexed question, vexata quaestio, poser, puzzle, paradox, hard nut to crack, nut to crack, bone to pick, crux, pons asinorum, where the shoe pinches, nonplus, quandary, strait, pass, pinch, pretty pass, stress, brunt, critical situation, crisis, trial, rub, emergency, exigency, scramble, scrape, hobble, slough, quagmire, hot water, hornet's nest, sea of troubles, peck of troubles, pretty kettle of fish, pickle, stew, imbroglio, mess, ado, false position, set fast, stand, standstill, deadlock, dead set, fix, horns of a dilemma, cul de sac, hitch, stumbling block, crab, curmudgeon, difficult, not easy, hard, tough, troublesome, toilsome, irksome, operose, laborious, onerous, arduous, Herculean, formidable, sooner said than done, more easily said than done, easier said than done, difficult to deal with, hard to deal with, ill-conditioned, crabbed, crabby, not to be handled with kid gloves, not made with rose water, awkward, unwieldy, unmanageable, intractable, stubborn, perverse, refractory, plaguy, trying, thorny, rugged, knotted, knotty, invious, pathless, trackless, labyrinthine, intricate, complicated, impracticable, not feasible, desperate, embarrassing, perplexing, delicate, ticklish, critical, beset with difficulties, full of difficulties, surrounded by difficulties, entangled by difficulties, encompassed with difficulties, under a difficulty, in a box, in difficulty, in hot water, in the suds, in a cleft stick, in a fix, in the wrong box, in a scrape, in deep water, in a fine pickle, in extremis, between two stools, between Scylla and Charybdis, surrounded by shoals, surrounded by breakers, surrounded by quicksands, at cross purposes, not out of the wood, reduced to straits, hard pressed, sorely pressed, run hard, pinched, put to it, straitened, hard up, hard put to it, hard set, put to one's shifts, puzzled, at a loss, at the end of one's tether, at the end of one's rope, at one's wit's end, at a nonplus, at a standstill, graveled, nonplused, nonplussed, stranded, aground, stuck fast, set fast, up a tree, at bay, aux abois, driven into a corner, driven from pillar to post, driven to extremity, driven to one's wit's end, driven to the wall, au bout de son Latin, out of one's depth, thrown out, accomplished with difficulty, hard-fought, hard-earned, with difficulty, with much ado, barely, hardly, uphill, against the stream, against the grain, d rebours, invita Minerva, in the teeth of, at a pinch, upon a pinch, at long odds, against long odds, ay there's the rub, hic labor hoc opus, things are come to a pretty pass, ab inconvenienti, ad astra per aspera, acun chemin de fleurs ne conduit a la gloire.Blusterer
N blusterer, swaggerer, vaporer, roisterer, brawler, fanfaron, braggart, bully, terrorist, rough, bulldozer, hoodlum, hooligan, larrikin, roarer, Mohock, Mohawk, drawcansir, swashbuckler, Captain Bobadil, Sir Lucius O'Trigger, Thraso, Pistol, Parolles, Bombastes Furioso, Hector, Chrononhotonthologos, jingo, desperado, dare-devil, fire eater, fury, rowdy, slang-whanger, tough, puppy, prig, Sir Oracle, dogmatist, doctrinaire, jack-in-office, saucebox, malapert, jackanapes, minx, bantam-cock.Evil doer
N evil doer, evil worker, wrongdoer, mischief-maker, marplot, oppressor, tyrant, destroyer, Vandal, iconoclast, firebrand, incendiary, fire bug, pyromaniac, anarchist, communist, terrorist, savage, brute, ruffian, barbarian, semibarbarian, caitiff, desperado, Apache, hoodlum, hood, plug-ugly, Red Skin, tough, Mohawk, Mo-hock, Mo-hawk, bludgeon man, bully, rough, hooligan, larrikin, dangerous classes, ugly customer, thief, cockatrice, scorpion, hornet, snake, viper, adder, snake in the grass, serpent, cobra, asp, rattlesnake, anaconda, canker-worm, wire-worm, locust, Colorado beetle, alacran, alligator, caymon, crocodile, mosquito, mugger, octopus, torpedo, bane, cutthroat, cannibal, anthropophagus, anthropophagist, bloodsucker, vampire, ogre, ghoul, gorilla, vulture, gyrfalcon, gerfalcon, wild beast, tiger, hyena, butcher, hangman, blood-hound, hell- hound, sleuth-hound, catamount, cougar, jaguar, puma, hag, hellhag, beldam, Jezebel, monster, fiend, devil incarnate, demon in human shape, Frankenstein's monster, harpy, siren, Furies, Eumenides, Hun, Attila, scourge of the human race, faenum habet in cornu.Bad Man
N bad man, wrongdoer, worker of iniquity, evildoer, sinner, the wicked, bad example, villain, rascal, scoundrel, miscreant, budmash, caitiff, wretch, reptile, viper, serpent, cockatrice, basilisk, urchin, tiger, monster, devil, devil incarnate, demon in human shape, Nana Sahib, hellhound, hellcat, rakehell, bad woman, jade, Jezebel, scamp, scapegrace, rip, runagate, ne'er-do-well, reprobate, scalawag, scallawag, rou_e, rake, Sadist, skeesicks, skeezix, limb, one who has sold himself to the devil, fallen angel, ame damnee, vaurien, mauvais sujet, loose fish, sad dog, rounder, lost sheep, black sheep, castaway, recreant, defaulter, prodigal, rough, rowdy, hooligan, tough, ugly customer, mean mother, ruffian, bully, meanie, Jonathan Wild, hangman, incendiary, arsonist, fire bug, thief, murderer, terrorist, culprit, delinquent, crook, hoodlum, hood, criminal, thug, malefactor, offender, perpetrator, perp, disorderly person, misdemeanant, outlaw, scofflaw, vandal, felon, (convicted criminal), criminal, convict, prisoner, inmate, jail bird, ticket of leave man, multiple offender, blackguard, polisson, loafer, sneak, rapscallion, rascallion, cullion, mean wretch, varlet, kern, ame-de-boue, drole, cur, dog, hound, whelp, mongrel, lown, loon, runnion, outcast, vagabond, rogue, ronian, scum of the earth, riffraff, Arcades ambo, Int, sirrah!, Acherontis pabulum, gibier de potence.Tenacity
N tenacity, toughness, strength, (cohesion), grip, grasp, stickiness, (cohesion), sequacity, stubbornness (obstinacy), glue, cement, glutinousness, sequaciousness, viscidity, (semiliquidity), leather, white leather, whitleather, gristle, cartilage, unbreakability, tensile strength, tenacious, tough, strong, resisting, sequacious, stringy, gristly cartilaginous, leathery, coriaceous, tough as whitleather, stubborn, unbreakable, indivisible, atomic.For further exploring for "tough" in Webster Dictionary Online
