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
The candidates vied to establish their relatability, that most valuable of campaign currencies, by describing their own hardscrabble experiences.
—
Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2026
The film's soundtrack carries on that way throughout, showing the boundless energy of hardscrabble, down-to-their-last-dime people via fifes, fiddles, and harps.
—Alex Galbraith, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Feb. 2026
Walters had a hardscrabble upbringing in Munfordville, Kentucky.
—Dan Piepenbring, New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2026
The first pictures McCullin took were of hoodlums and down-and-outs, subjects that reflected his own hardscrabble background.
—Andrew Pulver, Air Mail, 31 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hardscrabble
Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2026
The film's soundtrack carries on that way throughout, showing the boundless energy of hardscrabble, down-to-their-last-dime people via fifes, fiddles, and harps.
—Alex Galbraith, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Feb. 2026
Walters had a hardscrabble upbringing in Munfordville, Kentucky.
—Dan Piepenbring, New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2026
The first pictures McCullin took were of hoodlums and down-and-outs, subjects that reflected his own hardscrabble background.
—Andrew Pulver, Air Mail, 31 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hardscrabble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hardscrabble
Adjective
-
Overall, the museum’s collection which once held 150,000 artifacts attributed to periods of Sudanese history as far back as the Stone Age has now been left desolate.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
17 Mar. 2026
-
His work can be gritty, like an act of discovery, as his camera pops in and out of shadows, through desolate, post-apocalyptic shops and office buildings.—
Heide Janssen,
Oc Register,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Leeds actually had three shots extra in their more recent barren spell, 72 to 69, but the average quality of those shooting opportunities was lower.—
Beren Cross,
New York Times,
25 Mar. 2026
-
On the drive out, the streets of New Orleans were barren.—
Daniel Brook,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The Indian film follows an impoverished elderly couple whose developmentally disabled son has become a source of shame in their village.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
26 Mar. 2026
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The backstory The program began more than 60 years ago and typically provides medical aid to impoverished communities and rural, underserved areas — often in lower-resource countries like Angola, Guatemala and Venezuela but in some high-income countries as well.—
Gabrielle Emanuel,
NPR,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
What’s great about Grayson’s story is that things were looking pretty bleak before the Bananas rolled into town about a decade ago.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
28 Mar. 2026
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The future looks bleak for non-power conferences and uncertain for Big East, Big 12 and ACC, too.—
Jon Wilner,
Mercury News,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
And that 44-point home victory was with Brandon Miller having a poor shooting night (5 of 15, 13 points).—
Scott Fowler,
Charlotte Observer,
25 Mar. 2026
-
The Dolphins’ struggles during the last decade-plus with Ross signing the checks was a result of poor leadership at the top of the football operations side.—
Omar Kelly,
Miami Herald,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hardscrabble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hardscrabble. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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