the hard way
noun
: in a way that involves difficult or painful experiences
He found out the hard way that crime doesn't pay.
She insisted on doing things the hard way.
Examples of the hard way in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
To recap, after housemaid Millie (Sydney Sweeney) learns the hard way that her boss, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar), is actually a sadistic psychopath and his wife, Nina (Amanda Seyfried), secretly hired her in a desperate and elaborate scheme to escape his clutches, Millie kills him.
—
Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Dec. 2025
One travel expert learned that lesson the hard way while arriving in Tanzania after a red-eye flight.
—Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 20 Dec. 2025
The Sullys learned this the hard way in The Way of Water, and this story doesn't shy away from the necessity of an armed revolution when an ontological evil comes knocking.
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 19 Dec. 2025
One hiker in Utah’s Arches National Park learned this the hard way when he was trapped for hours in a predicament that felt straight out of an old movie plot.
—Meghan Pryce, CNN Money, 11 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for the hard way
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Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Dec. 2025
One travel expert learned that lesson the hard way while arriving in Tanzania after a red-eye flight.
—Deirdre Bardolf, FOXNews.com, 20 Dec. 2025
The Sullys learned this the hard way in The Way of Water, and this story doesn't shy away from the necessity of an armed revolution when an ontological evil comes knocking.
—Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 19 Dec. 2025
One hiker in Utah’s Arches National Park learned this the hard way when he was trapped for hours in a predicament that felt straight out of an old movie plot.
—Meghan Pryce, CNN Money, 11 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for the hard way
Cite this Entry
“The hard way.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20hard%20way. Accessed 22 Dec. 2025.
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