1
2
of pornography
: containing explicit descriptions of sex acts or scenes of actual sex acts compare soft-core
3
: characterized by or being the purest or most basic form of something : fundamental
a room gussied up in hard-core French provincial style—
John Canaday
John Canaday1
: a central or fundamental and usually enduring group or part: such as
a
: a relatively small enduring core of society marked by apparent resistance to change or inability to escape a persistent wretched condition (such as poverty or chronic unemployment)
b
: a militant or fiercely loyal faction
2
usually hardcore
chiefly British
: hard material in pieces (such as broken bricks or stone) used as a bottom (as in making roads and in foundations)
Synonyms
Examples of hard-core in a Sentence
Noun
He knows that he can count on the support of a hard core of party loyalists.
Recent Examples on the WebAnshel Pfeffer, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2024
Interest therefore remained largely limited to Tesla’s more hard-core enthusiasts willing to pay the high cost—at one point $15,000—for the privilege of being a tester at the forefront of the technology.
—Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 27 Mar. 2024
While Fox Nation offers replays of a few Fox News opinion programs, the platform has moved away from hard-core political content such as a past series from former host Tucker Carlson that suggested the federal government was involved in instigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection on the Capitol.
—Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024
Among the 15 states in the path of totality, Maine has some of the slimmest odds of clear skies — and the best chance of snow — a factor likely to drive hard-core eclipse aficionados, known as umbraphiles, to locations where cloud cover is less likely.
—Jenna Russell Greta Rybus, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024
Madeline Heim Anthony Larson describes himself as a hard-core ice fisher.
—Journal Sentinel, 19 Mar. 2024
The filmmaker, a hard-core Dune fan himself who first read the books at 13-years-old, previously told EW that making cuts was one of the most difficult parts of bringing the story to life.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 4 Mar. 2024
Trump has extreme vulnerabilities outside his hard-core MAGA base, and that presents a real opportunity for Democrats this fall, Schwerin said.
—Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 28 Jan. 2024
Yet even the hardiest of hard-core Marvel fans might have difficulty forming a serious attachment to something anchored by such slender threads.
—Brian Lowry, CNN, 13 Feb. 2024
Christopher Maag, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2024
By 2025, digital transactions will rule the B2B world, with B2B sales volumes touching spreading to hard core traditional industries.
—Sarwant Singh, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2023
The hard core malfeasance is unforgivable and the current Israeli genocide on top of all the other crimes, a game changer, The victimhood card has expired.
—Timothy Bella, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2023
Steelers: Knowledgeable, hard core and travels everywhere with the team.
—Mike Freeman, USA TODAY, 27 June 2023
Tical 2000 is state-of-the-art East Coast hardcore, with dirty beats and creepy sonics by the likes of Mobb Deep’s Havoc, Erick Sermon, and Wu visionary RZA.
—Chris Norris, SPIN, 27 June 2023
The band formed in 2009, and have been evolving their brand of caustic but deeply fun hardcore through a series of lineup changes.
—Zhenzhen Yu, Rolling Stone, 26 June 2023
What used to be the clinic’s waiting room now has a small stage where punk and hardcore bands come to play.
—Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 23 June 2023
Since then, even as so much else has happened, that hard core hasn’t shifted.
—David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2023
Adjective
His obstructionism, his showdowns with generals, his confrontations with the Biden administration—all are focused on that end, which means preserving his far-right coalition and playing to his hard-core nationalist base.
—Anshel Pfeffer, The Atlantic, 27 Mar. 2024
Interest therefore remained largely limited to Tesla’s more hard-core enthusiasts willing to pay the high cost—at one point $15,000—for the privilege of being a tester at the forefront of the technology.
—Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 27 Mar. 2024
While Fox Nation offers replays of a few Fox News opinion programs, the platform has moved away from hard-core political content such as a past series from former host Tucker Carlson that suggested the federal government was involved in instigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection on the Capitol.
—Stephen Battaglio, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024
Among the 15 states in the path of totality, Maine has some of the slimmest odds of clear skies — and the best chance of snow — a factor likely to drive hard-core eclipse aficionados, known as umbraphiles, to locations where cloud cover is less likely.
—Jenna Russell Greta Rybus, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2024
Madeline Heim Anthony Larson describes himself as a hard-core ice fisher.
—Journal Sentinel, 19 Mar. 2024
The filmmaker, a hard-core Dune fan himself who first read the books at 13-years-old, previously told EW that making cuts was one of the most difficult parts of bringing the story to life.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 4 Mar. 2024
Trump has extreme vulnerabilities outside his hard-core MAGA base, and that presents a real opportunity for Democrats this fall, Schwerin said.
—Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 28 Jan. 2024
Yet even the hardiest of hard-core Marvel fans might have difficulty forming a serious attachment to something anchored by such slender threads.
—Brian Lowry, CNN, 13 Feb. 2024
Noun
Those who remained on Shelter Island to look for scallops were the hard core, the romantics and the purists, for whom a fallow winter turns the search for scallops into something like a sacramental rite.
—Christopher Maag, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2024
By 2025, digital transactions will rule the B2B world, with B2B sales volumes touching spreading to hard core traditional industries.
—Sarwant Singh, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2023
The hard core malfeasance is unforgivable and the current Israeli genocide on top of all the other crimes, a game changer, The victimhood card has expired.
—Timothy Bella, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2023
Steelers: Knowledgeable, hard core and travels everywhere with the team.
—Mike Freeman, USA TODAY, 27 June 2023
Tical 2000 is state-of-the-art East Coast hardcore, with dirty beats and creepy sonics by the likes of Mobb Deep’s Havoc, Erick Sermon, and Wu visionary RZA.
—Chris Norris, SPIN, 27 June 2023
The band formed in 2009, and have been evolving their brand of caustic but deeply fun hardcore through a series of lineup changes.
—Zhenzhen Yu, Rolling Stone, 26 June 2023
What used to be the clinic’s waiting room now has a small stage where punk and hardcore bands come to play.
—Emily Witt, The New Yorker, 23 June 2023
Since then, even as so much else has happened, that hard core hasn’t shifted.
—David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 16 June 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hard-core.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
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Cite this Entry
“Hard-core.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hard-core. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
hard core
noun1
: an unchanging and lasting central part
2
: a small number of aggressive members of a group
hard-core
adjective
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