Thesaurus
hard
Synonyms and Antonyms of hard
1
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
affectless, callous, case-hardened, cold-blooded, compassionless, desensitized, hard-boiled, hard-hearted, heartless, indurate, inhuman, inhumane, insensate, insensitive, ironhearted, merciless, obdurate, pachydermatous, pitiless, remorseless, ruthless, slash-and-burn, soulless, stony (also stoney), stonyhearted, take-no-prisoners, thick-skinned, uncharitable, unfeeling, unmerciful, unsparing, unsympathetic
boorish, heedless, inconsiderate, thoughtless, uncaring, unfriendly, unloving, unthinking
grim, hard-bitten, harsh, heavy-handed, ironfisted, ironhanded, jackbooted, knock-down, drag-out (or knock-down-and-drag-out), oppressive, rough, rough-and-tumble, severe, sledgehammer, stern, tough, ungentle
abusive, acrimonious, disagreeable, hateful, ill-natured, ill-tempered, malevolent, malicious, mean, rancorous, spiteful, surly, virulent
barbarous, bestial, brutal, brutish, cruel, evil-minded, savage, vicious
2
requiring considerable physical or mental effort
arduous, Augean, backbreaking, challenging, demanding, difficult, effortful, exacting, formidable, grueling (or gruelling), heavy, hellacious, herculean, killer, laborious, moiling, murderous, pick-and-shovel, rigorous, rough, rugged, severe, stiff, strenuous, sweaty, tall, testing, toilsome, tough, uphill
abstract, abstruse, complex, complicated, elusive, hairy, insoluble, intricate, involved, knotty, opaque, problematic (also problematical), recondite, serious, spiny, stubborn, thorny, ticklish, tricky
bruising, burdensome, exhausting, labored, onerous, oppressive, stressful, taxing, tight, trying
annoying, bothersome, distressing, irksome, troublesome, vexatious
cheap, easy, effortless, facile, light, mindless, simple, soft, undemanding
3
able to withstand hardship, strain, or exposure
flinty, leathery, resilient, stalwart
durable, enduring, everlasting, immortal, imperishable, lasting, permanent, stable, staunch (also stanch), staying, tenacious, unyielding
flourishing, prospering, thriving
fit, fortified, hale, healthy, husky, lusty, red-blooded, robust, sound, strapping, virile
4
based on sound reasoning or information
5
difficult to endure
6
extreme in degree, power, or effect
7
given to exacting standards of discipline and self-restraint
adamant, adamantine, callous, hardened, hard-hearted, hard-line, immovable, implacable, inflexible, merciless, ossified, pitiless, relentless, rock-ribbed, stiff, unbending, uncompromising, unrelenting, unsparing, unyielding
ascetic (also ascetical), monastic, monkish
determined, firm, resolved, single-minded, steadfast, unflinching
8
having a consistency that does not easily yield to pressure
9
having been established and usually not subject to change
certain, determinate, final, firm, fixed, flat, frozen, hard-and-fast, inexpugnable, set, settled, stable
10
having or showing deep-seated resentment
caring, forgiving, gentle, kind, kindhearted, loving, sweet, sympathetic, tender, warm, warmhearted
11
sticking to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion
adamant, adamantine, bullheaded, dogged, hard-nosed, hardened, hardheaded, headstrong, immovable, implacable, inconvincible, inflexible, intransigent, mulish, obdurate, obstinate, opinionated, ossified, pat, pertinacious, perverse, pigheaded, self-opinionated, self-willed, stiff-necked, stubborn, unbending, uncompromising, unrelenting, unyielding, willful (or wilful)
determined, hell-bent, inexorable, persistent, relentless, resolved, set, single-minded, steadfast, stouthearted, tenacious, unflinching
firm, hard-line, hard-shell (or hard-shelled), iron, severe, stern, strict
hidebound, narrow-minded, rigid
bloody-minded [chiefly British], cantankerous
contumacious, disobedient, froward, insubordinate, intractable, recalcitrant, refractory, uncooperative, ungovernable, unmanageable, unruly
indomitable, invincible, unconquerable
deaf to reason
12
restricted to or based on fact
hypothetical, speculative, theoretical (also theoretic)
apocryphal, unauthentic, undocumented
chimerical (also chimeric), fabulous, fanciful, fantastic (also fantastical), imaginary, imagined, invented, legendary, made-up, make-believe, mythical (or mythic), pretend
Synonym Discussion of hard
-
- farming is hard work
-
- the difficult ascent of the mountain
-
- the arduous task of rebuilding
hard
Synonyms and Antonyms of hard
1
with great effort or determination
actively, animatedly, briskly, busily, dynamically, energetically, feverishly, spiritedly, vehemently, vigorously, zealously
continuously, ploddingly, steadfastly, steadily, unabatedly, unrelentingly, unremittingly
ardently, attentively, conscientiously, earnestly, exhaustively, meticulously, painstakingly, seriously, thoroughly
indefatigably, tirelessly, unflaggingly, untiringly, wearilessly
2
with feelings of bitterness or grief
abjectly, cheerlessly, crestfallenly, dejectedly, despairingly, despondently, disconsolately, dispiritedly, downheartedly, low-spiritedly
blackly, darkly, dismally, distressfully, distressingly, dourly, drearily, forlornly, gloomily, glumly, joylessly, mirthlessly, miserably, morosely, pessimistically, somberly, sullenly
acutely, harshly, keenly, piercingly, poignantly, severely, sharply
3
in a vigorous and forceful manner
fiercely, hammer and tongs, robustly, roughshod, sharply, vehemently, violently
actively, animatedly, briskly, crisply, eagerly, gamely, heartily, lustily, snappily, spiritedly, spunkily, vivaciously
decidedly, determinedly, directly, emphatically, fast, fixedly, intensively, intently, purposefully, resolutely, rigidly, smartly, solidly, soundly, squarely, steadfastly, steadily, sturdily, surely
like gangbusters, to beat the band, with a vengeance, with might and main
4
at, within, or to a short distance or time
hereabouts (or hereabout), hereaway (or hereaways) [dialect], thereabouts (also thereabout)
at close quarters, at hand, on one's doorstep, within call
5
in a manner so as to cause loss or suffering
callously, cold-bloodedly, hard-heartedly, heartlessly, inhumanely, inhumanly, insensately, insensitively, mercilessly, obdurately, pitilessly, ruthlessly, tyrannically, uncharitably, unfeelingly, unmercifully, unsparingly
abusively, brutishly, savagely, viciously
aggressively, assertively, decidedly, determinedly, firmly, grimly, gruffly, resolutely, strongly, toughly
Learn More about hard
-
See words that rhyme with hard Dictionary: Definition of hard Medical Dictionary: Definition of hard Spanish Central: Translation of hard Nglish: Translation of hard for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of hard for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up hard? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
