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tough

   Also found in: Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.04 sec.
tough  (tf)
adj. tough·er, tough·est
1. Able to withstand great strain without tearing or breaking; strong and resilient: a tough all-weather fabric.
2. Hard to cut or chew: tough meat.
3. Physically hardy; rugged: tough mountaineers; a tough cop.
4. Severe; harsh: a tough winter.
5.
a. Aggressive; pugnacious.
b. Inclined to violent or disruptive behavior; rowdy or rough: a tough street group.
6. Demanding or troubling; difficult: skipping the toughest questions.
7. Strong-minded; resolute: a tough negotiator.
8. Slang Unfortunate; too bad: a tough break.
9. Slang Fine; great.
n.
A violent or rowdy person; a hoodlum or thug.
Idiom:
tough it out Slang
To get through despite hardship; endure: "It helps if one was raised to tough it out" Gail Sheehy.

[Middle English, from Old English th.]

toughly adv.
toughness n.

tough
Adjective
1. strong and difficult to break, cut, or tear: this fabric is tough and water-resistant
2. (of meat or other food) difficult to cut and chew; not tender
3. physically or mentally strong and able to cope with hardship: a tough uncompromising woman, unwilling to take no for an answer
4. rough or violent: a tough and ruthless mercenary
5. strict and firm: the country's tough drugs laws
6. difficult or troublesome to do or deal with: a tough task
7. tough luck! Informal an expression of lack of sympathy for someone else's problems
Noun
a rough, vicious, or violent person
Verb
tough it out Informal to endure a difficult situation until it improves: criticism of his performance has reinforced his desire to tough it out [Old English tōh]
toughness n
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.toughtough - someone who learned to fight in the streets rather than being formally trained in the sport of boxing
battler, belligerent, combatant, fighter, scrapper - someone who fights (or is fighting)
2.toughtough - an aggressive and violent young criminal
bully - a hired thug
criminal, crook, felon, malefactor, outlaw - someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime
3.toughtough - a cruel and brutal fellow
aggressor, assailant, assaulter, attacker - someone who attacks
bullyboy - a swaggering tough; usually one acting as an agent of a political faction
muscleman, muscle - a bully employed as a thug or bodyguard; "the drug lord had his muscleman to protect him"
skinhead - a young person who belongs to a British or American group that shave their heads and gather at rock concerts or engage in white supremacist demonstrations
plug-ugly, tough guy - someone who bullies weaker people
Adj.1.toughtough - not given to gentleness or sentimentality; "a tough character"
hard - dispassionate; "took a hard look"; "a hard bargainer";
insensitive - deficient in human sensibility; not mentally or morally sensitive; "insensitive to the needs of the patients"
tender - given to sympathy or gentleness or sentimentality; "a tender heart"; "a tender smile"; "tender loving care"; "tender memories"; "a tender mother"
2.toughtough - very difficult; severely testing stamina or resolution; "a rugged competitive examination"; "the rugged conditions of frontier life"; "the competition was tough"; "it's a tough life"; "it was a tough job"
difficult, hard - not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure; "a difficult task"; "nesting places on the cliffs are difficult of access"; "difficult times"; "why is it so hard for you to keep a secret?"
3.toughtough - physically toughened; "the tough bottoms of his feet"
rugged - sturdy and strong in constitution or construction; enduring; "with a house full of boys you have to have rugged furniture"
experienced, experient - having experience; having knowledge or skill from observation or participation
strong - having strength or power greater than average or expected; "a strong radio signal"; "strong medicine"; "a strong man"
untoughened, tender - physically untoughened; "tender feet"
4.toughtough - substantially made or constructed; "sturdy steel shelves"; "sturdy canvas"; "a tough all-weather fabric"; "some plastics are as tough as metal"
rugged - sturdy and strong in constitution or construction; enduring; "with a house full of boys you have to have rugged furniture"
5.toughtough - violent and lawless; "the more ruffianly element"; "tough street gangs"
violent - acting with or marked by or resulting from great force or energy or emotional intensity; "a violent attack"; "a violent person"; "violent feelings"; "a violent rage"; "felt a violent dislike"
6.toughtough - feeling physical discomfort or pain (`tough' is occasionally used colloquially for `bad'); "my throat feels bad"; "she felt bad all over"; "he was feeling tough after a restless night"
colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech
uncomfortable - providing or experiencing physical discomfort; "an uncomfortable chair"; "an uncomfortable day in the hot sun"
7.tough - resistant to cutting or chewing
inedible, uneatable - not suitable for food
tender - easy to cut or chew; "tender beef"
8.toughtough - unfortunate or hard to bear; "had hard luck"; "a tough break"
bad - having undesirable or negative qualities; "a bad report card"; "his sloppy appearance made a bad impression"; "a bad little boy"; "clothes in bad shape"; "a bad cut"; "bad luck"; "the news was very bad"; "the reviews were bad"; "the pay is bad"; "it was a bad light for reading"; "the movie was a bad choice"
9.tough - making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe; "a baffling problem"; "I faced the knotty problem of what to have for breakfast"; "a problematic situation at home"
difficult, hard - not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure; "a difficult task"; "nesting places on the cliffs are difficult of access"; "difficult times"; "why is it so hard for you to keep a secret?"

tough
adjective 1. strong, determined, aggressive, high-powered, feisty (informal), chiefly U.S., Canad. hard-nosed (informal) self-confident, unyielding, hard as nails, self-assertive, badass (slang), chiefly U.S. << OPPOSITE weak
noun 7. ruffian, heavy (slang) rough (informal) bully, thug, hooligan, brute, rowdy, bravo, bully boy, bruiser (informal) roughneck (slang) tsotsi S. African
Translations
Spanish tough [tʌf] adj [meat] → duro; [journey] → penoso; [task, problem, situation] → difícil (= resistant); resistente; [person] → fuerte: (pej) → bruto
n (= gangster etc) → gorila m;
they got tough with the workers → se pusieron muy duros con los trabajadores

French tough [tʌf] adjdur(e) (= resistant); résistant(e)solide; [meat] → dur, coriace (= firm); inflexible; [journey] → pénible; [task, problem, situation] → difficile (= rough); dur
n (= gangster etc) → dur m;
tough luck! → pas de chance!; tant pis!

German tough [tʌf] adj (= strong, firm, difficult) → hart (= resistant); widerstandsfähig; [meat, animal, person] → zäh (= rough); rau;
tough luck! → Pech!

Italian tough [tʌf] adjduro/a (= resistant); resistente; [meat] → duro/a, tiglioso/a; [journey] → faticoso/a, duro/a; [person] (= rough); violento/a, brutale
n (= gangster etc) → delinquente m/f;
tough luck! → che sfortuna!

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When the doors of the Asile de Nuit were closed to them, Strickland and Captain Nichols sought the hospitality of Tough Bill.
no, no, Jack," cries the uncle, "the hearts of women are not so soon broke; they are tough, boy, they are tough.
The lower subdivided part, called the junk, is one immense honeycomb of oil, formed by the crossing and re-crossing, into ten thousand infiltrated cells, of tough elastic white fibres throughout its whole extent.
 
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