tough

adjective

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\ ˈtəf

tougher; toughest

Definition of tough

(Entry 1 of 4)

1 : difficult to accomplish, resolve, endure, or deal with a tough question tough luck

2 : capable of enduring strain, hardship, or severe labor tough soldiers

3 : unruly, rowdyish started hanging out with the tough kids

4a : strong or firm in texture but flexible and not brittle

b : not easily chewed tough meat

5 : characterized by severity or uncompromising determination tough laws tough discipline — see also get tough on

6 : very hard to influence : stubborn a tough negotiator

7 : stubbornly fought a tough contest

8 : marked by absence of softness or sentimentality a tough critic

9 : glutinous, sticky

tough

adverb

Definition of tough (Entry 2 of 4)

: in a tough manner (see tough entry 1) talking tough

tough

noun

Definition of tough (Entry 3 of 4)

: a tough and violent person : rowdy

tough

verb

toughed; toughing; toughs

Definition of tough (Entry 4 of 4)

transitive verb

: to bear unflinchingly : endure —usually used with out especially in the phrase tough it out

Other Words from tough Synonyms & Antonyms Choose the Right Synonym More Example Sentences Learn More About tough

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Synonyms & Antonyms for tough

Synonyms: Adjective

chewy,
leathery

Synonyms: Noun

Antonyms: Adjective

tender

Choose the Right Synonym for tough

Adjective

strong, stout, sturdy, stalwart, tough, tenacious mean showing power to resist or to endure. strong may imply power derived from muscular vigor, large size, structural soundness, intellectual or spiritual resources. strong arms the defense has a strong case stout suggests an ability to endure stress, pain, or hard use without giving way. stout hiking boots sturdy implies strength derived from vigorous growth, determination of spirit, solidity of construction. a sturdy table people of sturdy independence stalwart suggests an unshakable dependability. stalwart environmentalists tough implies great firmness and resiliency. a tough political opponent tenacious suggests strength in seizing, retaining, clinging to, or holding together. tenacious farmers clinging to an age-old way of life

Examples of tough in a Sentence

Adjective I have a tough constitution, and my profession taught me how to compete against long odds and big obstacles. — Lance Armstrong, It's Not About The Bike, (2000) 2001 … Pelletreau had firsthand experience in dealing with Israelis as well as with Arabs and had a reputation for being bold, analytical, and tough as nails. — Robert D. Kaplan, The Arabists, 1993 … this wiry, tough, frenetic Algerian with the beneficent smile, who could vault over the bar and stiff-arm a drunk out into the night in less time than it takes to say Edgar Poe, and return, bland as butter, to take up where he left off … — William Styron, "The Paris Review," August 1953, in William Styron, This Quiet Dust And Other Writings, (1953) 1982 He had on the other hand to preserve his own reputation as a tough D.A. who dealt handily with the criminal classes. — E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime, (1974) 1975 She had a tough time in college. Are you tough enough for the job? He's been hanging around with a bunch of tough guys. The rug is made of tough material. Adverb He talks tough but he's not really dangerous. Noun One night, after antagonizing a gang of older toughs, he had his face smashed in with a hockey stick. — John Harris, Rolling Stone, 14 Nov. 2002 They weren't strong enough to fight Sankoh and his hopped-up young toughs, who number in the thousands. — Tom Masland et al., Newsweek, 15 May 2000 The subways provided fine service, except that lately there had been a problem. Packs of young toughs had taken to roaming the cars. — Tom Wolf, Harper's, November 1989 didn't want her son hanging out with the neighborhood toughs Verb Summer in New York is coasting the dairy aisle at Safeway. … It's finding the spot in a subway car where the vent blows strongest and staying there past your stop, toughing it out when the "excuse me, ladies and gentlemen" hard-luck stories blow through. — Guy Trebay, Village Voice, 30 July 1991 … they were toughing it out with the help of the greatest ally a macho young cop ever had, booze. — Joseph Wambaugh, Lines and Shadows, 1984

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Dan Feehan, general manager at E.W. Becks Restaurant and Pub on Main Street, said the past year was tough for all small businesses. — Madison Bateman, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 2 July 2021 The limit for perch in the Central Basin has been reduced from 30 to 10 fish, and even that meager limit is tough to catch. — cleveland, 1 July 2021 It's been equally tough to classify Mvula, but that's not a knock on her artistry; her music calls for deep concentration. — Marcus J. Moore, EW.com, 1 July 2021 Unfortunately for Parker, Dallas’ wide receiver corps are going to be tough to crack. — John Owning, Dallas News, 30 June 2021 That added hundreds of dollars to a bill that was already tough to swallow. — John Keilman, chicagotribune.com, 30 June 2021 Family ties are tough to loosen, as Phylicia Rashad, the former television wife of Bill Cosby, showed Wednesday afternoon. — Fortune, 30 June 2021 The Fed could recalibrate all these rules, but the likelihood or outcome of those tweaks is tough to forecast. — Telis Demos, WSJ, 29 June 2021 For people of color, the pandemic hasn’t been just tough, but devastating. — David Weill Reprints, STAT, 27 June 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb The tough-talking leader also publicly lashed out for the first time at Filipino boxing star Manny Pacquiao, a Philippine senator and a longtime ally, for saying that corruption has worsened under Duterte. — Jim Gomez, Star Tribune, 28 June 2021 The overall feeling that the tough-on-crime era wasn’t the best approach to achieving public safety and justice is being accepted by more and more people across the ideological spectrum. — Greg Fitzgerald, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 Nov. 2020 Floyd was caught in the grips of America’s tough-on-crime era. — Washington Post, 19 Oct. 2020 The brash language is not unusual for Duterte, a tough-talking populist who is most known for a bloody war on drugs that has left thousands dead. — Washington Post, 22 June 2021 Murphy also trained with a dialect coach to learn how to speak in a Boston accent — which proved to be a challenge when working with her co-star Mary Hollis Inboden, who plays Patty, Allison’s brusque, tough-talking next-door neighbor. — Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 11 June 2021 As the Age of Aquarius dawned in Phoenix, a tough-talking, 50-something Chi-town native exposed the city to the latest entertainment phenomenon. — Douglas C. Towne, The Arizona Republic, 11 June 2021 The tough-talking leader repeated his death threats to drug lords preying on young Filipinos. — Jim Gomez, Star Tribune, 1 June 2021 There’s a standing-room-only area for sipping relatively tough-to-find French white wines, including several bottles from Pattes Loup, a producer in Chablis — ideally shoulder-to-shoulder when COVID restrictions ease. — Janelle Bitker, San Francisco Chronicle, 20 May 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Environmental dynamics were not supportive of much intensification — mainly due to dry air nearby — but weak upper-level winds could allow for a tough of strengthening before landfall in Cuba during the late morning or afternoon hours Monday. — BostonGlobe.com, 6 July 2021 Southside coach Natalie Throneberry said Fayetteville's attack made a tough on the Mavericks' blockers. — Paul Boyd, Arkansas Online, 11 Sep. 2020 The Portland distance star came back in a big way from a tough last 16 months by winning Saturday’s men’s race at the U.S. Olympic marathon trials. — oregonlive, 2 Mar. 2020 Shots of Phoenix running from street toughs in his clown outfit are intercut with his social worker breaking up with him. — Dan Brooks, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2019 At one point, toughs from a drug-trafficking gang called Loyal To Familia arrived on motorbikes looking for members of Brothas, a rival group. — The Economist, 28 Nov. 2019 Overcharging the group seemed like a political move to boost his reelection as a tough on crime prosecutor. — Dahleen Glanton, chicagotribune.com, 7 Nov. 2019 The fish has a tough, albeit flexible, inner layer bound by collagen to mineralize the outer layer of scales. — Fox News, 18 Oct. 2019 Mushroom Confit Makes about 6 cups Toss together in a colander placed in the sink or over a bowl: 2 pounds mushrooms, larger ones quartered, any tough stems removed 1 tablespoon salt Let sit for 1 hour. — CBS News, 7 Nov. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb The initiative failed, Coaxum says, because SF Global didn’t have the funding to tough out the lengthy municipal process. — Kristin Stoller, Forbes, 18 June 2021 For many businesses there has been no real option but to tough it out until lockdowns ease, which in Germany may not be until the fall. — New York Times, 7 May 2021 The national news of the day was indeed tragic, and infuriating, but the other 779 major leaguers somehow managed to tough it out. — Washington Post, 6 May 2021 Napolitano has received feedback from Zebra customers who are grateful for an alternative to public transportation, traditional bicycles and having to tough it out on foot amid inclement weather or conditions that aren’t pedestrian-friendly. — Georgann Yara, The Arizona Republic, 22 Apr. 2021 Without any viable alternatives for treating menopausal symptoms, more women are simply choosing to tough it out. — Michael Satow, Forbes, 20 Apr. 2021 Williams said his mother Teresa Johnson — an engineer who has worked for NASA for 30 years — grew up telling him to tough out illnesses. — BostonGlobe.com, 2 Apr. 2021 Raised to tough it out and proudly marking more than three decades since recovering from alcohol abuse, Cartwright has been wary of medication. — Sasha Pezenik, ABC News, 25 Mar. 2021 Instead of the extremes of coddling or leaving kids to tough it out alone, apprenticeship parents continually balance challenge and support for kids. — Washington Post, 5 Jan. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tough.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.