hard-core

adjective

ˈhärd-ˈkȯr How to pronounce hard-core (audio)
Definition of hard-corenext
as in deep
firmly established over time the hard-core habits that generate our mountains of trash everyday will be extremely difficult to change

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hard-core On the court, the nickname goes back to the 1930s, when journalists evoked the Bible’s Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse as a way of describing the four hard-core conservative justices who blocked progressive legislation for years. — Noah Feldman, Mercury News, 7 July 2026 These are not social Democrats, these are hard-core, godless communists. — CBS News, 28 June 2026 The chugging and churning riffs of the Swedish hard-core band’s breakout song once used to echo the pressure-cooker atmosphere of the kitchen. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 26 June 2026 Last year’s Superman was divisive among the hardcore fandom but grossed a very respectable $619 million worldwide, kicking off the new era of DC Studios under co-chairs James Gunn and Peter Safran on a promising note. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 24 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for hard-core
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard-core
  1. deep
  2. inveterate
  3. lifelong
  4. entrenched
  5. inherent
  6. rooted
Adjective
  • Many athletes are motivated by a deep hatred of losing, more so than a love of winning.
    — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • There’s also a deep respect for craftsmanship—from marble carving, for which the Cyclades are famous, to fishing, farming, and handmade work.
    — Chadner Navarro, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of deep
Adjective
  • The cast features not just the creator, who makes the Manic Pixie Dream Girl archetype her own as ukulele troubadour Lulu, but also a pre-Bridgerton Jonathan Bailey in the wild role of an inveterate womanizer.
    — Judy Berman, Time, 11 Aug. 2026
  • In the guest section, apparently at the invitation of one of the liberal Justices, sat Robert De Niro, an inveterate Trump critic.
    — Margaret Talbot, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of inveterate
Adjective
  • While images of destruction flooded social media, 68-year-old Chris White, a lifelong resident of Kauai and the owner of a rental home in Poipu, noted that much of the island was spared significant damage.
    — GENE JOHNSON, Arkansas Online, 12 Sep. 2026
  • This emergency connection solved an immediate health crisis, but not the contamination itself, said Jennifer Rawlison, a lifelong Newburgh resident turned clean water advocate.
    — Austin Fast, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of lifelong
Adjective
  • Yet entrenched misogyny and debates over gender equality within the religion have persisted, particularly over women’s access to temples andcertain rituals.
    — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 8 Sep. 2026
  • So deeply entrenched are the problems confronting higher education that a growing chorus of innovators says the easiest way to fix them is to begin again from scratch.
    — Jon Marcus, NPR, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of entrenched
Adjective
  • But Dead Zone backs still didn’t hit elite scoring seasons at a substantially better rate than late-round RBs, despite the inherent advantages of having stronger early-season roles, and that only amplifies the ceiling point.
    — Ben Gretch, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Now, as then, the world is churning over the identities of peoples and nations based on either ethnicity and religion or the values and rights inherent in all mankind.
    — Kurt Shillinger, Christian Science Monitor, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of inherent
Adjective
  • And this convergence underscores how their varied yet deeply rooted commitments to values of equality and fairness helped shift and shape society for the better.
    — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Vandell, as a bar, achieves the same qualities as our best ambitious, rooted restaurants.
    — Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of rooted

Browse Nearby Words

hardcase
hard-core
hardcover
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Cite this Entry

“Hard-core.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-core. Accessed 14 Sep. 2026.

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