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).

---

[Middle English, from Old English th.]

---

toughly adv.

toughness n.

---

tough [tʌf]

adj

1. strong or resilient; durable a tough material

2. not tender he could not eat the tough steak

3. having a great capacity for endurance; hardy and fit a tough mountaineer

4. rough or pugnacious a tough gangster

5. resolute or intractable a tough employer

6. difficult or troublesome to do or deal with a tough problem

7. Informal unfortunate or unlucky it's tough on him

n

a rough, vicious, or pugnacious person

adv

1. Informal violently, aggressively, or intractably to treat someone tough

hang tough Informal to be or appear to be strong or determined

vb (tr)

Slang to stand firm, hold out against (a difficulty or difficult situation) (esp in tough it out)

[Old English tōh; related to Old High German zāhi tough, Old Norse tā trodden ground in front of a house]

toughish  adj

toughly  adv

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?"

---

tough

adjective

1. strong, determined, aggressive, high-powered, feisty (informal, chiefly U.S. & Canad.), hard-nosed (informal), self-confident, unyielding, carnivorous (informal), hard as nails, self-assertive, badass (slang, chiefly U.S.) She is tough and ambitious.
strong soft, weak, delicate

2. hardy, strong, seasoned, fit, strapping, hardened, vigorous, sturdy, stout, stalwart, resilient, brawny, hard as nails He's small, but he's tough, and I expect him to do well in the match.

3. violent, rough, vicious, ruthless, pugnacious, hard-bitten, ruffianly, badass (slang, chiefly U.S.) He shot three people, earning his reputation as a tough guy.

4. rough, wild, criminal, violent, lawless, badass (slang, chiefly U.S.) She doesn't seem to be cut out for this tough neighbourhood.
rough soft, gentle, tender, humane, civilized

5. harsh, hard, awful, grim, unpleasant, bleak, austere, spartan, straitened She had a pretty tough childhood.

6. strict, severe, stern, hard, firm, exacting, adamant, resolute, draconian, intractable, inflexible, merciless, unforgiving, unyielding, unbending He announced tough measures to limit the money supply.
strict easy, soft, flexible, mild, accommodating, benign, humane, compassionate, indulgent, lenient, merciful

7. hard, difficult, exhausting, troublesome, uphill, strenuous, arduous, thorny, laborious, irksome Whoever wins the election is going to have a tough job.

8. difficult, hard, puzzling, baffling, troublesome, perplexing, thorny, knotty It was a tough decision but I think we made the right one.
difficult easy, easy-peasy (slang)

9. resilient, hard, resistant, durable, strong, firm, solid, stiff, rigid, rugged, sturdy, inflexible, cohesive, tenacious, leathery, hard-wearing, robust tough leather boots and trousers
resilient delicate, soft, weak, tender, flexible, fragile, flimsy

10. chewy, fibrous, leathery, stringy, sinewy, gristly The steak was tough and the peas were like bullets.

noun

ruffian, heavy (slang), rough (informal), bully, thug, hooligan, brute, rowdy, bravo, bully boy, bruiser (informal), roughneck (slang), boot boy, tsotsi (S. African) Three burly toughs elbowed their way to the front.

Translations

tough [tʌf]

A. ADJ (tougher (compar) (toughest (superl)))

1. (= robust) → fuerte
granny may be old, but she's tough → puede que la abuela sea vieja, pero es fuerte
to be (as) tough as old boots [person] → ser fuerte como un roble

2. (= hard, uncompromising) [person] → duro; [neighbourhood, school] → peligroso
tough customer → tío/a m/f duro/a
tough guy → tipo m duro
tough nut → tío/a m/f duro/a
to do some tough talking → hablar sin rodeos

3. (= resistant) [substance, material] → fuerte, resistente; [skin] → duro

4. (= not tender) [meat] → duro
the steak was as tough as old boots → el filete estaba duro como la suela de un zapato

5. (= harsh) [policies] → duro, de mano dura; [measures] → duro; [teacher, parent] → severo
to take a tough line on sth → adoptar una línea dura con respecto a algo
to take a tough line with sb → ponerse duro con algn
to be tough on sb → ser duro con algn

6. (= difficult) [way of life, situation, day] → duro, difícil; [choice, question] → difícil; [competition] → fuerte
it's a tough job being Prime Minister → es duro ser primer ministro
it's a tough job, but somebody has to do it → es un trabajo duro, pero alguien tiene que hacerlo
it's tough when you have kids → es difícil cuando tienes niños
it will be tough to finish it in time → va a ser difícil acabarlo a tiempo
his team will be tough to beat → su equipo será difícil de vencer, va a ser difícil vencer a su equipo
it was tough trying to raise the cash → fue difícil conseguir el dinero
he has found it tough going this year → este año se le ha hecho muy cuesta arriba, este año le ha resultado muy difícil
when the going gets tough → cuando las cosas se ponen difíciles
to have a tough time (of it) → pasarlo mal or fatal, pasar las de Caín
when the going gets tough, the tough get going → la gente con arrestos se crece ante las adversidades

7. (set expressions)
tough!, tough luck! → ¡mala suerte!
that's your tough luck! → ¡te fastidias!
tough shit → te jodes

B. N (= thug) → matón m, macarra m

C. VT to tough it out → aguantar el tipo

D. ADV

1. to act/talk tough → hacerse el duro

2. (US) to hang tough → mantenerse firme

---

tough [ˈtʌf]

adj

(= strong, brave) [person, animal] → solide
She's tough. She can take it → Elle est solide. Elle tiendra le coup.

(= rough) [person] → dur(e); [school, area] → dur(e)
a tough guy → un dur
He thinks he's a tough guy → Il se prend pour un dur.

(= strong) [material] → solide
tough leather gloves → de solides gants en cuir

(= hard to chew) [meat] → dur(e), coriace
The meat's tough → La viande est coriace.

(= difficult) [task, problem, situation] → dur(e) often before n; [journey] → pénible
It was tough, but I managed OK → C'était dur, mais je m'en suis tiré.
It's a tough job → C'est un dur travail.
to have a tough time → traverser une période difficile

(= strict) → dur(e)

tough luck! (sympathetically) → pas de chance!; (unsympathetically) → tant pis pour toi!, tant pis pour vous!
tough! → tant pis pour toi!, tant pis pour vous!

n

(= gangster) → dur m
tough cookie n → dur(e) m/f à cuire

---

tough

adj (+er)

→ zäh; (= resistant) → widerstandsfähig; cloth → strapazierfähig; membrane → widerstandsfähig; skin → rau; (towards others) → hart, knallhart (inf); bargaining, negotiator, opponent, fight, struggle, lesson → hart; district, city → hart, rau; as tough as leather → zäh wie Leder (inf); (as) tough as old boots (Brit hum inf) or shoe leather (US hum inf) → zäh wie Leder (inf); he’ll get over it, he’s pretty tough → er wird schon darüber hinwegkommen, er ist hart im Nehmen (inf); to get tough (with somebody) (physically) → grob werden (mit jdm or gegen jdn), handgreiflich werden (gegen jdn); (fig) → hart durchgreifen (gegen jdn); tough guy (inf) → (knall)harter Kerl or Bursche (inf); getting him to agree took some tough talking → er musste ganz schon bearbeitet werden, damit er zustimmte

(= difficult) task, problem → hart; journey → strapaziös, anstrengend; choice → schwierig; competition → hart, zäh; it was tough going (lit, fig) → es war eine Strapaze or ein Schlauch m (inf); to have a tough time of it → nichts zu lachen haben; I had a tough time controlling my anger → es fiel mir schwer, meinen Zorn unter Kontrolle zu halten; it’s a tough job being Prime Minister → Premierminister zu sein, ist eine schwierige Aufgabe or ein harter Job (inf); it’s tough when you have kids → es ist schwierig, wenn man Kinder hat; it must have been tough being or to be a child in the war → für ein Kind muss die Zeit während des Krieges sehr schwer gewesen sein; she’s a tough customer → sie ist zäh wie Leder (inf)

(= strict) policy, controls → hart; to take a tough line with somebody/on something → bei jdm/einer Sache eine starre Haltung einnehmen

(inf: = unfortunate) → hart; that’s pretty tough! → das ist ganz schön hart!; it was tough on the others → das war hart für die andern; tough (luck)! → Pech!; tough luck on Taylor → Pech für Taylor; tough shit (sl) → Scheißpech nt (inf)

n (inf) → Schlägertyp m (pej inf), → (knall)harter Bursche (inf)

adv (+er) (inf) to treat somebody tough → jdn hart rannehmen; to talk tough → große Sprüche machen; to act tough → hart durchgreifen; to hang tough → unnachgiebig festhalten

---

tough [tʌf]

1. adj (-er (comp) (-est (superl)))

a. (substance, fabric) → resistente, duro/a; (conditions, regulations) → duro/a; (meat) → duro/a, tiglioso/a; (journey) → faticoso/a, duro/a; (task, problem, situation) → difficile (fig) (resistance) → tenace; (fight) → accanito/a
as tough as old boots → duro/a come una suola di scarpa
tough opposition → opposizione tenace

b. (person, hardy, resilient) → robusto/a, resistente; (mentally strong) → resistente, tenace; (hard, in character) → inflessibile; (rough) → violento/a, brutale
they got tough with the workers → hanno adottato una politica inflessibile con i lavoratori
he's a tough man to deal with → è un tipo difficile
a tough guy → un duro
he's a tough customer (fam) → è un osso duro

c. (fam) (unfortunate) but it was tough on the others → ma è stata una sfortuna per gli altri
if you can't get here on time, that's your tough luck! (unsympathetic) → se non ce la fai ad arrivare in orario, peggio per te!

2. n (fam) (gangster, lout) → delinquente m/f

---

tough [tʌf]

1. adj (-er (comp) (-est (superl)))

a. (substance, fabric) → resistente, duro/a; (conditions, regulations) → duro/a; (meat) → duro/a, tiglioso/a; (journey) → faticoso/a, duro/a; (task, problem, situation) → difficile (fig) (resistance) → tenace; (fight) → accanito/a
as tough as old boots → duro/a come una suola di scarpa
tough opposition → opposizione tenace

b. (person, hardy, resilient) → robusto/a, resistente; (mentally strong) → resistente, tenace; (hard, in character) → inflessibile; (rough) → violento/a, brutale
they got tough with the workers → hanno adottato una politica inflessibile con i lavoratori
he's a tough man to deal with → è un tipo difficile
a tough guy → un duro
he's a tough customer (fam) → è un osso duro

c. (fam) (unfortunate) but it was tough on the others → ma è stata una sfortuna per gli altri
if you can't get here on time, that's your tough luck! (unsympathetic) → se non ce la fai ad arrivare in orario, peggio per te!

2. n (fam) (gangster, lout) → delinquente m/f

---

tough

adj tough [taf]

1 strong; not easily broken, worn out etc Plastic is a tough material. sterk قوي، متين здрав pevný stærk hart σκληρός, γερός, ανθεκτικός resistente, fuerte vastupidav, kõva محکم kestävä solide חָזָק कड़ा čvrst, izdržljiv kemény kuat sterkur resistente 丈夫な 부러지지 않는 tvirtas stiprs; izturīgs kuat sterk robust, solid, seig twardy resistente tare прочный pevný trd čvrst stark, seg, härdig ที่ทนทาน sağlam 不易磨損的 міцний; цупкий; твердий سخت، ناقابل شکست mạnh, rắn 不易磨损的

2 (of food etc) difficult to chew. taai عَسير المَضْغ жилав tuhý sej zäh σκληρός duro vintske سفت sitkeä difficile קָשֶה मजबूत žilav, tvrd rágós liat seigur duro 固い 질긴 kietas ciets; sīksts keras taai seig twardy rijo tare жёсткий tuhý žilav žilav seg เหนียว(อาหาร) sert 咬不動的 твердий, як підошва چبانے ميں مشکل، کڑا cứng 咬不动的

3 (of people) strong; able to bear hardship, illness etc She must be tough to have survived such a serious illness. taai, sterk صَلْب، قادِر على تَحَمُّل المَصاعِب издръжлив odolný stærk robust δυνατός, σκληρό καρύδι fuerte, resistente sitke, visa سرسخت؛ قوی vahva robuste קָשוּחַ उद्दण्ड žilav, jak szívós, stramm, edzett tangguh sterkur, harður af sér forte 強い 억센 tvirtas, ištvermingas izturīgs; sīksts tahan lasak sterk sterk, robust, seig uparty forte puternic, robust выносливый odolný močen žilav härdig, härdad, seg, tuff แข็งแรง dayanıklı 堅強的，健壯的 дужий, сильний سخت جان có nghị lực 坚强的，健壮的

4 rough and violent It's a tough neighbourhood. rowwe عَنيف престъпен hrubý, divoký barsk übel άγριος, βίαιος violento; conflictivo jõhker پر خشونت väkivaltainen violent אָלִים कठोर opak brutális keras grófur, ágengur, ofbeldishneigður violento 荒っぽい 거친 pavojingas huligānisks penuh keganasan ruw barsk, tøff niebezpieczny violento violent; periculos хулиганский hrubý, neznesiteľný divji žestok hårdför, tuff ที่น่ากลัว belâlı, azılı 粗暴的 злочинний, бандитський خراب thô lỗ 粗暴的

5 difficult to deal with or overcome a tough problem; The competition was really tough. rof صَعْب التَّعامُل مع المُشْكِلَه او التَّغَلُّب عَلَيْها труден těžký hård schwierig δύσκολος, ζόρικος duro raske دشوار vaikea dur קָשֶה दु:साध्य neugodan, težak nehéz berat erfiður, harður duro, difficile 手ごわい 다루기 어려운 sunkus sīva konkurence sukar; sengit moeilijk vrien, vanskelig trudny difícil dur; greu трудный ťažký hud oštar svår, besvärlig, hård ยาก zor 難對付的 важкий; жорстокий دشوار khó khăn 难对付的

n

a rough, violent person; a bully. afknouer شَخْص عَنيف أو جِلْف хулиган lotr barsk fyr; bølle der Rowdy κακοποιός, τραμπούκος bruto, persona violenta/agresiva jõhkard آدم کله شق kovanaama dur, dure בִּריוֹן गुंडा, बदमाश razbijač, nasilnik huligán orang kasar hrotti, ribbaldi duro, violento ならず者 불량배 mušeika, chuliganas huligāns ganas woesteling bølle, tøffing chuligan valentão per­soană violentă/dură хулиган lotor robavs grubijan hårding, råskinn คนที่ต่อต้านสังคม zor, güç 惡棍 хуліган, бандит سخت، اڑيل kẻ hay bắt nạt 恶棍

n toughness

rofheid قَسْوَه، صَلابَه، جَلافَه، خُشونَه здравина tuhost, odolnost sejhed; styrke; barskhed die Zähigkeit σκληρότητα dureza; fortaleza, resistencia; carácter violento vastupidavus, visadus دشواری؛ طاقت sitkeys dureté קְשִיחוּת मजबूती, चिमड़पन, बेरहमी žilavost, tvrdoća keménység, erősség; kitartás ketangguhan harka; staðfesta durezza がんじょうさ 튼튼함 tvirtumas stiprums; izturīgums kuatnya taaiheid hardhet; seighet; hardførhet twardość rijeza duritate, tenacitate прочность; жёсткость;выносливость tuhosť; tvrdosť; odolnosť žilavost čvrstina seghet ความเหนียว dayanıklılık 堅強 твердість; міцність سختي sự khó khăn 坚强

v toughen

to make or become tough. sterk maak يُخَشِّن، يُقَسّي заяквам zpevnit gøre sej; hærde zäh machen/werden σκληραίνω, σκληραγωγώ, σκληραγωγούμαι endurecer(se), fortalecer(se) sitkestama, sitkenema محکم کردن؛ خشن کردن vahvistaa (se) durcir, (s')endurcir לְחַזֵק कड़ा कर učiniti žilavim, očvrsnuti megkeményít menguatkan herða; harðna indurire, indurirsi がんじょうにする 강하게 하다 kietinti, kietėti, užgrūdinti padarīt cietu/stipru/izturīgu; kļūt cietam/stipram/izturīgam menguatkan taai maken/worden herde(s), gjøre hard utwardzać, twardnieć endurecer a (se) întări напрягать(ся) spevniť utrditi (se) očvrsnuti göra seg[], härda ทำให้แข็งแรง sertleş(tir)mek (使)堅強 ставати міцним, цупким, дужим سخت ہونا يا کرنا gây khó khăn （使）坚强

tough luck

bad luck That was tough luck. jammer حَظ سَيِّء лош късмет smůla uheld das Pech ατυχία mala suerte ebaõnn بدشانسی؛ بخت بد kova onni pas de chance מָזָל בִּיש मजबूत हिस्सा peh, nesreća balszerencse kemalangan óheppni sfortuna 不運 불운 nesėkmė neveiksme nasib malang pech ergerlig, uheldig pech azar ghi­nion невезение smola smola loša sreća otur แย่มาก şanssızlık 運氣不佳 невдача, невезіння بد قسمتي điều rủi 运气不佳

get tough with (someone)

to deal forcefully with or refuse to yield to (a person) When he started to argue, I got tough with him. hom dwing يَتَعامَل بِقسُوَّه مع،يَرْفُض التَّنازُل لِ отнасям се грубо с jednat tvrdě gå hårdt på (nogen) massiv werden gegenüber αγριεύω σε κπ., σκληραίνω τη στάση μου ponerse duro con mitte järele andma قاطعانه برخورد کردن با ottaa kovat keinot käyttöön se montrer dur avec לִהיוֹת תָקִיף कड़ा, सख्त आदि बनना postati grub, agresivan prema kemény vkivel tidak menyerah sÿna (e-m) hörku (usare le maniere forti) 一歩も退かない (~에게) 엄하게 하다 nenusileisti, priešintis stingri izturēties pret kādu; iespītēties; nepiekāpties berkeras dgn sso hard optreden tegen gå hardt ut mot (noen) potraktować ostro endurecer a fi dur cu проявлять твёрдость с (кем-л.) zaobchádzať tvrdo (s kým); prestať sa maznať (s kým) ostro nastopiti biti grub ta i med hårdhandskarna mot, inta en hård attityd mot จัดการอย่างแข็งขันหรือปฏิเสธที่จะยอม (คน) (birine) karşı sertleşmek 對某人強硬起來 не поступатися سختي سے پيش آنا to tiếng với ai 对某人强硬起来

---

tough → قوي pevný barsk zäh σκληρός fuerte vahva dur čvrst duro 丈夫な 질긴 taai tøff nieustępliwy resistente жесткий tuff ที่ทนทาน sağlam dai 强硬的