Dictionary

tough en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• (Southern-England) audio
• /tʊf/ (Northern-England)
• /tɐf/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
• /tʌf/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English tough, towgh, tou, toȝ, from Old English tōh (“tough, tenacious, holding fast together; pliant; sticky, glutinous, clammy”), from Proto-West Germanic *tą̄h(ī), from Proto-Germanic *tanhuz (“fitting; clinging; tenacious; tough”), from *tinganą (“to press upon, throng”), from Proto-Indo-European *denḱ- (“to bite”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian toai (“tough”), Bavarian zaach, zach (“tough”), Dutch taai (“tough”), German zäh, zähe (“tough”), Limburgish tiee (“tough”), Luxembourgish zéi (“tough”); also Ancient Greek δάκνω (dáknō, “to bite”), Albanian danë, darë (“tongs; pincers; pliers”), Sanskrit दशति (daśati, “to bite”).

Meanings

1. Of a material, strong and resilient; sturdy.
   • The tent, made of tough canvas, held up to many abuses.
2. Of food, difficult to cut or chew.
   • To soften a tough cut of meat, the recipe suggested simmering it for hours.
3. (figuratively) Of a person or animal, rugged or physically hardy.
   • Only a tough species will survive in the desert.
   • But before you quit turkey hunting and take up model-train collecting, let me give you the good news: you can score on tough turkeys. In fact, you can kill the toughest turkey in the woods. 2010, Brian Lovett, Hunting Tough Turkeys, Stackpole Books, page 3:
4. (figuratively) Of a person, stubborn or persistent; capable of stubbornness or persistence.
   • He had a reputation as a tough negotiator.
5. (informal) Of weather, harsh or severe.
6. (figuratively) Rowdy or rough.
   • A bunch of the tough boys from the wrong side of the tracks threatened him.
7. (dated, slang) Cool, awesome, great.
   • They played a Beatle interview album on WBZ Boston radio. Real tough! 1965 January 12, Lou Sullivan, Diary:
8. (figuratively, informal) Of a question, difficult or demanding.
   • This is a tough crowd.
   • 1998, Lois Liederman Davitz, Joel Robert Davitz, 20 Tough Questions Teenagers Ask and 20 Tough Answers, Paulist Press, pages 6-7, But let's get back to the tough question about sex before marriage. And this is a tough question. In fact we would rank the question you've both raised as pretty high on our list of tough questions.
   • 2010, Rushworth M. Kidder, Good Kids, Tough Choices, Wiley (Jossey-Bass), page 96, What Lara faced, in fact, falls right into the pool of light beneath our second lens: making tough choices.
   • Anderson: We fought hard to get here. But now the toughest part of our mission begins. Anderson: We've got to drive right through the heart of Reaper-controlled territory, break past their defenses, and get to that beacon. 2012, BioWare, Mass Effect 3 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Earth:
9. (material) Undergoing plastic deformation before breaking.
10. (figuratively, informal) Strict, not lenient.
    • President Joe Biden is embracing tougher border measures, including shutting down the US-Mexico border, marking a stark shift from his early days in office as he tries to fend off former President Donald Trump’s attacks on immigration policy ahead of the election. 2024 January 27, Priscilla Alvarez, “Biden seizes on tougher border measures as he tries to fend off Trump attacks”, in CNN:
    • tough on crime

Forms

Deriveds

tough sell · tough beans · tough as old boots · toughen · semitough · toughie · tough as nails · tough nut to crack · toughshank · untough · tough row to hoe · tough pill to swallow · toughish · tough road to hoe · when the going gets tough, the tough get going · supertough · tough-minded · tough-cake · tough titty said the kitty · toughly · tough break · tough shit · tough ask · tough-skinned · tough toenails · toughy · toughhearted · tough luck · tough noogies · tough as teak · tough titties · tough going · tough guy · tough cookies · tough tuchus · toughness · ultratough · tough call · tough tacos · tough-love · tough times · tough cookie · tough tooshie · do it tough · tough titty · tough nut · tough-pitch · toughminded · tough crowd · tough tarts · hang tough · tough-guy · tough toodles · tough-guyness · tough love · tough on crime · tough bananas · tough act to follow · tough case · tough tushie · Timmy Tough Knuckles · tough sledding

Descendants

tuff · taff

Synonyms

thistly · challenging · stony · tenacious · hardhearted · steady · rigid · stout · rough · flint-hearted · truculent · adamant · unruly · diehard · frosty · dogged · resolved · pigheaded · confirmed · uneath · cold · callous · headstrong · strict · refractory · hard · peremptory · sticky · stern · determined · arduous · peevish · inflexible · stonehearted · insistent · iron-hearted · inflexible · strict · mulish · chronic · challenging · cold-eyed · hardy · ardent · incalcitrant · concrete · pertinacious · unyielding · bloody-minded · stalwart · wilful · lithic · bullheaded · insensitive · tenacious · stiff · forbidding · grim · bent on · humorless · vehement · grim · hard-hearted · heartless · dour · hardheaded · unyielding · unsympathetic · unbending · intransigent · thick-skinned · tough · rocky · recalcitrant · grim · certain · hardhanded · hardheaded · firm · adamantine · willful · rigorous · insensate · sullen · obstinate · unmoved · vigorous · tough · hard-boiled · staunch · sturdy · intractable · marble-hearted · hard · inclement · unbending · granitic · hard · robust · stubborn · thran · thwart · hard · steadfast · stony · immovable · unchewable · stout · nasty · robust · hardened · unsimple · persistent · effortful · obdurate · rigid · self-willed · resistant · irrefragable · brutal · icy · robust · severe · tough · hard-nosed · terminal · harsh · cruel · solid · resolute · stubborn as a mule · difficult · untiring · disorderly · obstreperous · harsh · stonyhearted · uncompromising · intrepid · tough · inveterate · rockhearted

Translations (104)

mi pūioio (rugged or physically hardy) · pdt toag (difficult to chew) · sv tålig (rugged or physically hardy) · ps ګران (difficult or demanding) · el τραχύς (rugged or physically hardy) · it duro (difficult to chew) · nl taai (difficult to chew) · es tranca (difficult or demanding) · ja たいへん (harsh or severe) · gl difícil (difficult or demanding) · fi ankara (harsh or severe) · mi kākoa (difficult to chew) · pl wytrzymały (rugged or physically hardy) · vi khó nhai (difficult to chew) · hi सख़्त (rugged or physically hardy) · ps سخت (rugged or physically hardy) · ru про́чный (material science: undergoing plastic deformation before breaking) · vi dẻo dai (rugged or physically hardy) · de zäh (difficult to chew) · vi bền (material science: undergoing plastic deformation before breaking) · km ស្វិត (difficult to chew) · fa چغر (difficult to chew) · vi ngoan cố (difficult or demanding) · es recio (rugged or physically hardy) · pt severo (harsh or severe) · bg устойчив (rugged or physically hardy) · de zäh (material science: undergoing plastic deformation before breaking) · el σκληρός (rugged or physically hardy) · gl duro (difficult to chew) · de widerstandsfähig (rugged or physically hardy) · sv seg (material science: undergoing plastic deformation before breaking) · no seig (difficult to chew) · sv svår (difficult or demanding) · ka უხეში (rowdy or rough) · ga righin (difficult to chew) · km មាំ (rugged or physically hardy) · ja 辛い (harsh or severe) · ps کلک (difficult to chew) · ru тру́дный (harsh or severe) · km កំណាច (rowdy or rough) · fi sitkeä (rugged or physically hardy) · hu rágós (difficult to chew) · de schwierig (difficult or demanding) · sv seg (difficult to chew) · km រឹង (difficult to chew) · tr sert (difficult to chew) · es tetelque (difficult or demanding) · pt resistente (rugged or physically hardy) · vi dai (difficult to chew) · bg труден (harsh or severe) · pdt toag (rugged or physically hardy) · gl duro (harsh or severe) · ps کلک (rugged or physically hardy) · eu gogor (rugged or physically hardy) · ja きつい (harsh or severe) · vi khó (difficult or demanding) · ja 硬い (difficult to chew) · pt durão (rowdy or rough) · pt duro (difficult to chew) · gd tapaidh (rugged or physically hardy) · fi hankala (difficult or demanding) · vi du côn (rowdy or rough) · ru тяжёлый (harsh or severe) · bg жилав (difficult to chew) · gd righinn (difficult to chew) · fi vaativa (difficult or demanding) · ru тя́жкий (harsh or severe) · it coriaceo (difficult to chew) · hi सख्त (rugged or physically hardy) · km ប្រិត (harsh or severe) · vi mạnh mẽ (rugged or physically hardy) · es de mano dura (difficult or demanding) · fi kova (rowdy or rough) · ru жёсткий (difficult to chew) · pl twardy (difficult to chew) · pl odporny (rugged or physically hardy) · km ពិបាក (difficult or demanding) · vi khắc nghiệt (harsh or severe) · el σκληρός (difficult to chew) · vi dẻo (material science: undergoing plastic deformation before breaking) · ka მტკიცე (material science: undergoing plastic deformation before breaking) · it duro (rugged or physically hardy) · sv svår (harsh or severe) · ka ხულიგანი (rowdy or rough) · gd fulangach (rugged or physically hardy) · mi taikaha (harsh or severe) · cmn 艱苦 /艰苦 (harsh or severe) · pt difícil (difficult or demanding) · fa سفت (difficult to chew) · mi kākatikati (difficult to chew) · el σκληρός (rowdy or rough) · fr dur (difficult or demanding) · it resistente (rugged or physically hardy) · fi sitkeä (difficult to chew) · mi pūioio (difficult to chew) · bg корав (difficult to chew) · fi sitkeä (material science: undergoing plastic deformation before breaking) · sv tuff (rowdy or rough) · ka გამძლე (rugged or physically hardy) · fur dûr (rugged or physically hardy) · ka მკაცრი (harsh or severe) · de knifflig (difficult or demanding) · sv tuff (difficult or demanding) · bg труден (difficult or demanding)

tough en · INTJ

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• (Southern-England) audio
• /tʊf/ (Northern-England)
• /tɐf/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
• /tʌf/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English tough, towgh, tou, toȝ, from Old English tōh (“tough, tenacious, holding fast together; pliant; sticky, glutinous, clammy”), from Proto-West Germanic *tą̄h(ī), from Proto-Germanic *tanhuz (“fitting; clinging; tenacious; tough”), from *tinganą (“to press upon, throng”), from Proto-Indo-European *denḱ- (“to bite”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian toai (“tough”), Bavarian zaach, zach (“tough”), Dutch taai (“tough”), German zäh, zähe (“tough”), Limburgish tiee (“tough”), Luxembourgish zéi (“tough”); also Ancient Greek δάκνω (dáknō, “to bite”), Albanian danë, darë (“tongs; pincers; pliers”), Sanskrit दशति (daśati, “to bite”).

Meanings

1. (slang) Used to indicate lack of sympathy
   • No one ever came to me and told me they didn't like the song, but people had mentioned stuff to other members of the band, who, surprisingly enough, stuck up for me. They were straight but they said, you know, tough. He's our singer, and we like his music. 1986, Bernard Brannner, quoting Blackberri, “Blackberri: Singing for Our Lives”, in Joseph Beam, editor, In The Life: A Black Gay Anthology, page 176:
   • If you don't like it, tough!

Forms

Translations (6)

fi harmi (lack of sympathy) · es ni modo (lack of sympathy) · nl jammer (lack of sympathy) · de Pech gehabt (lack of sympathy) · de Pech (lack of sympathy) · sv trist för dig (lack of sympathy)

tough en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• (Southern-England) audio
• /tʊf/ (Northern-England)
• /tɐf/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
• /tʌf/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English tough, towgh, tou, toȝ, from Old English tōh (“tough, tenacious, holding fast together; pliant; sticky, glutinous, clammy”), from Proto-West Germanic *tą̄h(ī), from Proto-Germanic *tanhuz (“fitting; clinging; tenacious; tough”), from *tinganą (“to press upon, throng”), from Proto-Indo-European *denḱ- (“to bite”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian toai (“tough”), Bavarian zaach, zach (“tough”), Dutch taai (“tough”), German zäh, zähe (“tough”), Limburgish tiee (“tough”), Luxembourgish zéi (“tough”); also Ancient Greek δάκνω (dáknō, “to bite”), Albanian danë, darë (“tongs; pincers; pliers”), Sanskrit दशति (daśati, “to bite”).

Meanings

1. A person who obtains things by force; a thug or bully.
   • They were doing fine until they encountered a bunch of toughs from the opposition.
   • He was in his early fifties, extensively tattooed, just the sort of tough I wouldn't want to meet alone in a parking lot at night, but right then he was whimpering. 2018, Sandeep Jauhar, Heart: a History, →ISBN, page 54:
   • One of his best stories was "Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life" (1914), of which there survives only an amusing still, showing poor Mabel Normand chained to the rails by two toughs, the moustached villain threatening her with a sledge-hammer, and an awful sense of that inexorably approaching express! 1958 February 14, David Gunston, “Railways on the Screen”, in Railway Magazine, page 87:

Forms

Translations (3)

yi שטאַרקער (one who obtains things by force) · el σκληρός (one who obtains things by force) · pt valentão (one who obtains things by force)

tough en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• (Southern-England) audio
• /tʊf/ (Northern-England)
• /tɐf/ (Australia, New-Zealand)
• /tʌf/ (General-American, Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From Middle English tough, towgh, tou, toȝ, from Old English tōh (“tough, tenacious, holding fast together; pliant; sticky, glutinous, clammy”), from Proto-West Germanic *tą̄h(ī), from Proto-Germanic *tanhuz (“fitting; clinging; tenacious; tough”), from *tinganą (“to press upon, throng”), from Proto-Indo-European *denḱ- (“to bite”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian toai (“tough”), Bavarian zaach, zach (“tough”), Dutch taai (“tough”), German zäh, zähe (“tough”), Limburgish tiee (“tough”), Luxembourgish zéi (“tough”); also Ancient Greek δάκνω (dáknō, “to bite”), Albanian danë, darë (“tongs; pincers; pliers”), Sanskrit दशति (daśati, “to bite”).

Meanings

1. To endure.
   • Universal Plant Edibility Test The following sounds like a lot of work—it is!—but that's because it comes from the US Army Survival Manual as republished in 1994 as "a civilian's best guide for toughing it, anyplace in the world...a must for campers, hikers, explorers, pilots, and others whose vocation or avocations require familiarity with the wilderness or out-of-doors..." 2012, Jerry Hopkins -, Extreme Cuisine: The Weird and Wonderful Foods That People Eat, →ISBN:
   • We shall reminisce on how we toughed it through the winters as they reached the firm, long arm around to give the cold embrace, with ardor seldom loosed till warm winds Marched or Apriled in to soften winter's knuckles -- send rivulets of courage down to dandelions and tulips. 2009, Paul Walsh, You and I and Others, →ISBN, pages 64 - 65:
   • “No,” said Minott, “I've toughed it through the winter, and i want to stay and hear the bluebirds once more. 2011, Henry David Thoreau, Damion Searls, The Journal of Henry David Thoreau, 1837-1861, →ISBN, page 254:
2. To toughen.

Forms

Deriveds

tough out · tough it out