hard-earned
adjective
: achieved or acquired through a lot of effort or hard work
Someone stole all her hard-earned money.
a hard-earned victory
Examples of hard-earned in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Customer satisfaction, trust in the products—these things are hard-earned but easy to lose if a product or feature is launched prematurely, leads to a price increase, or otherwise damages the customer experience.
—
Sage Lazzaro, Fortune, 17 Mar. 2026
Combined with well-deserved and hard-earned wins for the likes of Paul Thomas Anderson and Ryan Coogler, two auteurs beloved by any self-respecting film fan, and the 2026 Oscars felt like the first in a long time that were made with cinephiles top of mind.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 16 Mar. 2026
Stenhouse knows well the chaos at Daytona, where momentum is hard-earned and even harder to keep.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Feb. 2026
When Destiny watches her baby boy toddle across the floor, those quiet moments feel hard-earned.
—Alexa Liacko, CBS News, 24 Dec. 2025
The unique energy coming off Dickinson in the role seems to have been hard-earned — a result of his years spent tying the knots of his own masculinity and then eventually untangling them.
—Carrie Battan, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2025
The grit and gusto that Groff brought to the cast album was hard-earned.
—Joe Lynch, Billboard, 16 Sep. 2025
This positive experience was hard-earned after some rough years early in his career surrounding his rise to teen heartthrob fame with shows like One Tree Hill and Gilmore Girls.
—H. Alan Scott
jennifer Cunningham, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
Founded in 2004, jkROCK began its journey under humble and hard-earned circumstances.
—Jason Phillips, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2025
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Sage Lazzaro, Fortune, 17 Mar. 2026
Combined with well-deserved and hard-earned wins for the likes of Paul Thomas Anderson and Ryan Coogler, two auteurs beloved by any self-respecting film fan, and the 2026 Oscars felt like the first in a long time that were made with cinephiles top of mind.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 16 Mar. 2026
Stenhouse knows well the chaos at Daytona, where momentum is hard-earned and even harder to keep.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Feb. 2026
When Destiny watches her baby boy toddle across the floor, those quiet moments feel hard-earned.
—Alexa Liacko, CBS News, 24 Dec. 2025
The unique energy coming off Dickinson in the role seems to have been hard-earned — a result of his years spent tying the knots of his own masculinity and then eventually untangling them.
—Carrie Battan, Vulture, 6 Oct. 2025
The grit and gusto that Groff brought to the cast album was hard-earned.
—Joe Lynch, Billboard, 16 Sep. 2025
This positive experience was hard-earned after some rough years early in his career surrounding his rise to teen heartthrob fame with shows like One Tree Hill and Gilmore Girls.
—H. Alan Scott
jennifer Cunningham, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
Founded in 2004, jkROCK began its journey under humble and hard-earned circumstances.
—Jason Phillips, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hard-earned.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hard-earned. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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