| ADJECTIVE | all | tough | not given to gentleness or sentimentality |
|---|---|---|---|
| all | tough, rugged | very difficult | |
| all | tough, toughened | physically toughened | |
| all | tough, sturdy | substantially made or constructed | |
| all | tough, ruffianly | violent and lawless | |
| all | tough, bad | feeling physical discomfort or pain ('tough' is occasionally used colloquially for 'bad') | |
| all | tough | resistant to cutting or chewing | |
| all | tough, hard | unfortunate / unfortunate or hard to bear | |
| all | tough, baffling, elusive, knotty, problematic, problematical | making great mental demands | |
| NOUN | person | tough, street fighter | someone who learned to fight in the streets rather than being formally trained in the sport of boxing |
| person | tough, hood, hoodlum, goon, punk, thug, toughie, strong-armer | an aggressive and violent young criminal | |
| person | tough, bully, hooligan, ruffian, roughneck, rowdy, yob, yobo, yobbo | a cruel and brutal fellow |
| Sounds | tah'f | |
|---|---|---|
| Rhymes | aleph ... woodruff: 40 rhymes with ahf... | |
| Meaning | not given to gentleness or sentimentality. | |
|---|---|---|
| Example | "a tough character" | |
| Narrower | hard-bitten, hard-boiled, pugnacious | tough and callous by virtue of experience |
| tough-minded, unsentimental | facing facts or difficulties realistically and with determination | |
| See also | hard | dispassionate |
| insensitive | Deficient in human sensibility | |
| Opposite | tender | given to sympathy / sympathy / sympathy or gentleness or sentimentality |
| Spanish | duro, severo | |
| Meaning | Very difficult; severely testing stamina or resolution. | |
|---|---|---|
| Examples |
| |
| Synonym | rugged | |
| Broader | difficult, hard | not easy |
| Nouns | toughness | impressive difficulty |
| Meaning | physically toughened. | |
|---|---|---|
| Example | "the tough bottoms of his feet" | |
| Synonym | toughened | |
| Narrower | calloused, callous, thickened | Having calluses |
| enured, inured, hardened | made tough by habitual exposure | |
| weather-beaten | tanned and coarsened from being outdoors | |
| See also | experienced, experient | Having experience |
| rugged | sturdy / sturdy and strong in constitution or construction | |
| strong | Having strength or power greater than average or expected | |
| Opposite | tender, untoughened | physically untoughened |
| Spanish | duro | |
| Meaning | substantially made or constructed. | |
|---|---|---|
| Examples |
| |
| Synonym | sturdy | |
| Broader | rugged | sturdy / sturdy and strong in constitution or construction |
| Catalan | fort, resistent | |
| Spanish | fuerte, resistente | |
| Adverbs | toughly | in a ruggedly tough / tough manner |
| Meaning | Violent and lawless. | |
|---|---|---|
| Example | "tough street gangs" | |
| Synonym | ruffianly | |
| Broader | violent | Acting with or marked by or resulting from great force or energy or emotional intensity |
| Meaning | Feeling physical discomfort or pain ('tough' is occasionally used colloquially for 'bad'). | |
|---|---|---|
| Example | "he was feeling tough after a restless night" | |
| Synonym | bad | |
| Broader | uncomfortable | Providing or experiencing physical discomfort |
| Usage of | colloquialism | A colloquial expression |
| Meaning | resistant to cutting or chewing. | |
|---|---|---|
| Narrower | cartilaginous, gristly, rubbery | Difficult to chew |
| chewy | requiring much chewing | |
| coriaceous, leathered, leatherlike, leathery | resembling or made to resemble leather | |
| fibrous, sinewy, stringy, unchewable | (of meat) full of sinews | |
| hempen, fibrous | Having or resembling fibers especially fibers used in making cordage such as those of jute | |
| tough-skinned | Having a relatively tough outer covering | |
| See also | inedible, uneatable | not suitable for food |
| Opposite | tender | Easy to cut or chew |
| Spanish | duro | |
| Nouns | toughness | impressive difficulty |
| Meaning | unfortunate / unfortunate or hard to bear. | |
|---|---|---|
| Example | "a tough break" | |
| Synonym | hard | |
| Broader | bad | Having undesirable or negative qualities |
| Spanish | duro | |
| Meaning | making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe. | |
|---|---|---|
| Synonyms | baffling, elusive, knotty, problematic, problematical | |
| Broader | difficult, hard | not easy |
| Spanish | espinoso | |
| Nouns | toughness | impressive difficulty |
| Meaning | someone who learned to fight in the streets rather than being formally trained in the sport of boxing. | |
|---|---|---|
| Synonym | street fighter | |
| Broader | combatant, battler, belligerent, fighter, scrapper | someone who fights (or is fighting) |
| Meaning | An aggressive and violent young criminal. | |
|---|---|---|
| Synonyms | hood, hoodlum, goon, punk, thug, toughie, strong-armer | |
| Narrower | bully | A hired thug |
| Broader | criminal, felon, crook, outlaw, malefactor | someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime |
| Meaning | A cruel and brutal fellow. | |
|---|---|---|
| Synonyms | bully, hooligan, ruffian, roughneck, rowdy, yob, yobo, yobbo | |
| Narrower | bullyboy | A swaggering tough |
| muscleman, muscle | A bully employed as a thug or bodyguard | |
| skinhead | A young person who belongs to a British or American group that shave their heads and gather at rock concerts or engage in white supremacist demonstrations | |
| tough guy, plug-ugly | someone who bullies weaker people | |
| Broader | attacker, aggressor, assailant, assaulter | someone who attacks |
| Catalan | gall, goril·la | |
| Spanish | gorila | |
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