as in desolate
producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation
it was hard to eke out even a bare existence on the hardscrabble lands
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Recent Examples of hardscrabble
Here, in a former metal yard turned residential drug rehabilitation center just outside of town, the 40-year-old arrived after years of addiction that began around the time opioid pain pills flooded into the hardscrabble region’s mountains and valleys.
—
Chris Kenning, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
Barrett has played the hardscrabble, fiercely devoted emergency room charge nurse since the show's first season, which premiered in 2015.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Most bulldog gravy makers use milk, but there are hardscrabble versions made with water.
—Sheri Castle, Southern Living, 6 Aug. 2025
Strawberry, an outfielder who grew up playing on the hardscrabble streets of South Central Los Angeles, was part of the hard-partying, hard-charging 1986 Mets team that brought the second-ever World Series championship to Queens.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hardscrabble
Chris Kenning, USA Today, 4 Sep. 2025
Barrett has played the hardscrabble, fiercely devoted emergency room charge nurse since the show's first season, which premiered in 2015.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 28 Aug. 2025
Most bulldog gravy makers use milk, but there are hardscrabble versions made with water.
—Sheri Castle, Southern Living, 6 Aug. 2025
Strawberry, an outfielder who grew up playing on the hardscrabble streets of South Central Los Angeles, was part of the hard-partying, hard-charging 1986 Mets team that brought the second-ever World Series championship to Queens.
—Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 5 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hardscrabble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hardscrabble
Adjective
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The Irvines’ son died in the crash, and Peter used the cover of the most inexplicably desolate street in Chicago to switch his body for Carrie’s healthy son while the two women lay unconscious.—
Hunter Ingram,
Variety,
8 Nov. 2025
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Almost always surrounded by bare, desolate mountains.—
Joe Baur,
Outside,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The barren Martian landscape stretches as far as the eye can see, interrupted only occasionally by the faintest of tire tracks marking the unpaved road on Libya’s north-south route.—
Mick Krever,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
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In the wild, macaques can traverse miles of novel terrain each week and socialize through grooming, but in many laboratories they are isolated in barren cages no bigger than a washing machine.—
Ava Kofman,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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All the struggling, impoverished Californians who wish their lives were better?—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Nov. 2025
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The flood of people overwhelmed Bajo Chiquito, an impoverished community of 382 members of the Indigenous Emberá-Wounaan people.—
Daniel Gonzalez,
AZCentral.com,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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When everything looks bleak, a woman holds it up victoriously.—
Kieran Press-Reynolds,
Pitchfork,
6 Nov. 2025
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New York — US stocks closed lower Thursday as concerns mounted about expensive tech stocks, and a risk-off sentiment spread through markets after new data showed a bleak outlook for the job market.—
John Towfighi,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The Ministry of Environment blamed this year’s surge on a poor acorn harvest – which drove a similar spate of attacks in 2023.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
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Rather, the slow start (by Ovechkin’s standards) to this season seemed due more to poor puck luck.—
Sean Gentille,
New York Times,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hardscrabble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hardscrabble. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.
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