Toughness

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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toughness [ˈtʌfnɪs]

n

1. the quality or an instance of being tough

2. (Engineering / Metallurgy) Metallurgy the ability of a metal to withstand repeated twisting and bending, measured by the energy in kilojoules needed to break it Compare brittleness [2] softness [2]

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Toughness 

1. Babies you about as much as Perry White babies Clark Kent —Peter H. Lewis describing a tough-to-master computer program, New York Times, 1985
2. (The man is as) hard as a cash register —Dialogue, “Miami Vice” television drama, broadcast January 7, 1986
3. (She can be) hard as a mineral —Philip Roth

   The “Hard as a mineral” lady is the mother of Nathan Zuckerman, hero of several Roth novels.

4. Hard as flint —Larry McMurtry
5. Hard as my fist —Tennessee Williams
6. Hard as a tortoise-shell —John Galsworthy
7. Hardboiled as a picnic egg —Edward E. Paramore
8. Resilient and tenacious as an amoeba —Natascha Wodin
9. She’s [Genevieve Bujold] tough as a little green apple —Rex Reed
10. Tough and leathery as a jockey —John Mortimer
11. Tough and shrill as an old bird —H.E. Bates
12. Tough and hard-boiled as an Easter egg —Anon
13. Tough as a black oak —Dee Brown
14. Tough as a bone —W. S. Gilbert
15. Tough as a fast food steak —Tim McCarver, describing baseball player Dave Parker on television, January, 1987
16. Tough as a kibbutz woman —T. Coraghessan Boyle
17. (She was short and fat,) tough as a monkey —Rudolf Nassauer
18. Tough as an elephant’s hide —Calder Willingham
19. (He was as) tough as a resistant bacterium —Patrick Suskind
20. Tough as a stale bagel —Anon
21. (Memories as) tough as a thorn —Babette Deutsch
22. Tough as boiled owls —Hubert H. Humphrey on his opponent for presidential election
23. (She’s big as a damned barn and) tough as knife metal —Ken Kesey
24. Tough as marshmallows —Anon, Forbes, March 23, 1987

    The simile was used as a blurb to introduce an article about the government sounding tough but not following through.

25. (She was) a tough lady, like a military jeep rolling from place to place on thick tires —Harvey Jacobs
26. (She’s as) tough as old boots —Mary Bridgman

    Around since 1870. A popular variant: “Tough as old shoe leather.”

27. Tough as seaweed —Linda Pastan
28. Tough as teak —Bryan Forbes
29. Tough as tire treads —Lynn Haney

    The person being compared to tire treads is the late Edith Piaf.

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	toughness - enduring strength and energy         stamina, staying power endurance - the power to withstand hardship or stress; "the marathon tests a runner's endurance" legs - staying power; "that old Broadway play really has legs"
	2.	toughness - the property of being big and strong huskiness, ruggedness strength - the property of being physically or mentally strong; "fatigue sapped his strength"
	3.	toughness - the elasticity and hardness of a metal object; its ability to absorb considerable energy before cracking temper elasticity, snap - the tendency of a body to return to its original shape after it has been stretched or compressed; "the waistband had lost its snap"
	4.	toughness - impressive difficulty                 formidability difficultness, difficulty - the quality of being difficult; "they agreed about the difficulty of the climb"

Translations

toughness [ˈtʌfnɪs] N

1. [of person] → dureza f
she has a reputation for toughness → tiene fama de dura

2. [of substance, material] → dureza f, resistencia f

3. [of meat] → dureza f

4. [of policy, measure] → dureza f

toughness [ˈtʌfnɪs] n

[person] → solidité f
to show great mental toughness → se montrer très solide mentalement

[material, leather] → solidité f; [stone] → dureté f

toughness

n

(of meat etc) → Zähheit f; (of person) → Zähigkeit f; (= resistance) → Widerstandsfähigkeit f; (of cloth) → Strapazierfähigkeit f; (of skin) → Rauheit f; (of bargaining, negotiator, opponent, fight, struggle, lesson) → Härte f; (of district, city) → Rauheit f

(= difficulty) → Schwierigkeit f; (of journey) → Strapazen pl

(= harshness: of policy, controls) → Härte f

toughness [ˈtʌfnɪs] n (see adj)

a. → resistenza, durezza, difficoltà f inv, accanimento

b. → resistenza, tenacia, inflessibilità f inv, violenza