hard-won

adjective

ˈhärd-ˈwən

: gained by great effort

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web No diagnosis or intervention was handed to us; each was hard-won and highly scrutinized. —

Erin Prater, Fortune Well, 18 Feb. 2023 Complement, growth, faith, and yes, even independence, so hard-won for me — these fit better, but were still too simplistic to encompass the reality of what this love could be in all its layered complications. —

Cassidy Randall, Longreads, 16 Feb. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hard-won.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.