HARD-HANDED Synonyms: 84 Similar and Opposite Words

hardhanded

adjective

ˈhärd-ˈhan-dəd

Definition of hardhanded

as in tough

difficult to endure the hardhanded rule of a tyrannical regime

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hardhanded

Adjective

Competing in a Grand Tour is one of sport’s toughest endurance tests.

— Chris Marshall-Bell, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Trump used several minutes of his speech to praise Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is in a tough Senate race in America's largest red state.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of tough

Adjective

His rough exterior and no-nonsense approach tend to typecast him as a football machine devoid of personality or emotion.

— Colton Pouncy, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Mercury's rough surface, continually reshaped by debris hurled from impact craters, may have hidden the true extent of the loss, according to the researchers whose findings appear in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of rough

Adjective

Amid an oppressive stretch of extreme heat and Florida-esque humidity that has been punishing much of California, consider, for a moment, the Ice Age.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026
The Broncos also have a truly oppressive defense, and hit hard enough to turn the Chiefs’ fragile receivers into dust.

— J.J. Bailey, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of oppressive

Adjective

Either way, a spot in the round of 32 would be a just reward for a team that is unbeaten two games into what has been an extremely trying tournament off the field.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 21 June 2026
More than half of the search-and-rescue workers who show up for the most trying missions are BUSARs.

— Paige Williams, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026

Definition of trying

Adjective

When everything changed, as the dust literally settled on the most brutal terror attack on United States soil, the prevailing impulse among NFL owners was to play the games.

— Michael Silver, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
The cuts and the freezing of public funding for the film industry have been brutal for Argentine cinema.

— Roberto Prieto, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of brutal

Adjective

Another flagger, not publicly identified, suffered severe head trauma in 2024 after he was hit by an out-of-service F train in Brooklyn.

— Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 6 Sep. 2026
Five people were killed, three critically injured and two others hospitalized with less severe injuries, Miami-Dade County officials told a news conference.

— Anthony Izaguirre, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026

Definition of severe

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Browse Nearby Words

hard goods

hardhanded

hardhandedness

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“Hardhanded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hardhanded. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of hardhanded

adjective

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