tough

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.

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[Middle English, from Old English th.]

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toughly adv.

toughness n.

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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

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	tough - someone who learned to fight in the streets rather than being formally trained in the sport of boxing street fighter battler, belligerent, combatant, fighter, scrapper - someone who fights (or is fighting)
	2.	tough - an aggressive and violent young criminal hood, hoodlum, punk, strong-armer, thug, toughie, goon bully - a hired thug criminal, crook, felon, malefactor, outlaw - someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime
	3.	tough - a cruel and brutal fellow bully, hooligan, roughneck, rowdy, ruffian, yob, yobbo, yobo 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.	tough - 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.	tough - 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" rugged 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.	tough - physically toughened; "the tough bottoms of his feet" toughened 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.	tough - substantially made or constructed; "sturdy steel shelves"; "sturdy canvas"; "a tough all-weather fabric"; "some plastics are as tough as metal" sturdy rugged - sturdy and strong in constitution or construction; enduring; "with a house full of boys you have to have rugged furniture"
	5.	tough - violent and lawless; "the more ruffianly element"; "tough street gangs" ruffianly 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.	tough - 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" bad 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.	tough - unfortunate or hard to bear; "had hard luck"; "a tough break" hard 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" baffling, knotty, problematic, problematical, elusive 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?"

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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

adjective 2. hardy, strong, seasoned, fit, strapping, hardened, vigorous, sturdy, stout, stalwart, resilient, brawny, hard as nails

adjective 3. violent, rough, vicious, ruthless, pugnacious, hard-bitten, ruffianly

adjective 4. strict, severe, stern, hard, firm, exacting, adamant, resolute, draconian, intractable, inflexible, merciless, unforgiving, unyielding, unbending << OPPOSITE lenient

adjective 5. hard, difficult, exhausting, troublesome, uphill, strenuous, arduous, thorny, laborious, irksome

adjective 6. resilient, hard, resistant, durable, strong, firm, solid, stiff, rigid, rugged, sturdy, inflexible, cohesive, tenacious, leathery, hard-wearing, robust << OPPOSITE fragile

noun 7. ruffian, heavy (slang) rough (informal) bully, thug, hooligan, brute, rowdy, bravo, bully boy, bruiser (informal) roughneck (slang) tsotsi S. African

Translations

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

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tough [tʌf] adj → dur(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!

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

tough luck! → Pech!

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tough [tʌf] adj → duro/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!