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Hard

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hard¹

  • /hɑːd/ UK
  • /hɑɹd/ US

Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)d

Where it comes from

From Middle English hard, from Old English heard, from Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī), from Proto-Germanic *harduz, from Proto-Indo-European *kort-ús, from *kret- (“strong, powerful”).

Cognates

Cognate with Yola hard (“hard”), West Frisian hurd (“hard”), Alemannic German hert (“hard”), Bavarian hoat (“hard”), Central Franconian haat (“hard”), Dutch hard (“hard”), German hart (“hard”), Luxembourgish haart (“hard”), Danish and Swedish hård (“hard”), Faroese and Icelandic harður (“hard”), Norwegian Bokmål hard (“hard”), Norwegian Nynorsk hard, hard’u (“hard”), Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐍂𐌳𐌿𐍃 (hardus, “hard”), Ancient Greek κρατύς (kratús, “strong, mighty”), Sanskrit क्रतु (krátu, “power, might, ability”), Avestan 𐬑𐬭𐬀𐬙𐬎 (xratu).

adjective harder · more hard · hardest · most hard

  1. Solid and firm. Luckily she wasn’t there any more, no one was, when he returned from the Caribbean carnival damp-hatted and soaked through after being caught unprepared by a squall of hard, hot rain.
  2. Resistant to pressure; difficult to break, cut, or penetrate. This bread is so stale and hard, I can barely cut it.
  3. Strong.
  4. Containing alcohol. hard cider, hard lemonade, hard seltzer, hard soda
  5. Very acidic or tannic. While most 1974s remain hard, tannic, hollow wines lacking ripeness, flesh, and character, a number of the Graves estates did produce surprisingly spicy, interesting wines.
  6. High in dissolved chemical salts, especially those of calcium.
  7. Having the capability of being a permanent magnet by being a material with high magnetic coercivity (compare soft).
  8. Having a high energy (high frequency; short wavelength). hard X-rays
  9. Made up of parallel rays, producing clearly defined shadows.
  10. Difficult or requiring a lot of effort to do, understand, experience, or deal with. a hard problem;  a hard question;  a hard topic
  11. Demanding a lot of effort to endure. a hard life
  12. Severe, harsh, unfriendly, brutal. a hard master;  a hard heart;  hard words;  a hard character
  13. dated Difficult to resist or control; powerful. The stag was too hard for the horse.
  14. Hardened; having unusually strong defences. a hard site
  15. slang Tough, muscular, badass. He thinks he's well hard.
  16. slang Excellent, impressive. This song goes hard.
  17. Unquestionable; unequivocal. hard evidence;  a hard requirement
  18. Having a comparatively larger or a ninety-degree angle. At the intersection, there are two roads going to the left. Take the hard left.
  19. slang, vulgar Sexually aroused; having an erect penis. I got so hard watching two hot girls wrestle each other on the beach.
  20. Having muscles that are tightened as a result of intense, regular exercise.
  21. not comparable Plosive. There is a hard c in "clock" and a soft c in "centre".
  22. not comparable Unvoiced. Hard k, t, s, ch, as distinguished from soft, g, d, z, j.
  23. Velarized or plain, rather than palatalized. The letter ж (ž) in Russian is always hard.
  24. Rigid in the drawing or distribution of the figures; formal; lacking grace of composition.
  25. Having disagreeable and abrupt contrasts in colour or shading.
  26. not comparable In a physical form, not digital. a soft or hard copy; a digital or hard archive
  27. not comparable Using a manual or physical process, not by means of a software command. a hard reboot or reset
  28. Far, extreme. hard right, hard left
  29. Not having had the natural gum boiled off.
  30. Of a market: having more demand than supply; being a seller's market. Undercapitalized insurers cannot retain more catastrophe risks when the market is hard […]
  31. Hardcore.

Similar: adamantine, concrete, firm, granitic, grim, hard, inflexible, lithic, resistant, rigid, robust, solid

adverb harder · hardest

  1. With much force or effort. He hit the puck hard up the ice.
  2. With difficulty. His degree was hard earned.
  3. obsolete So as to raise difficulties. The question is hard set.
  4. Compactly. The lake had finally frozen hard.
  5. archaic Near, close. At the intersection, bear hard left.

noun hards

  1. countable A firm or paved beach or slope convenient for hauling vessels out of the water. The Monastery's ironworks at Sowley were renowned for centuries but declined with the passing of the 'wooden walls' at Buckler's Hard — a great number of these ships having been built with timber from the Beaulieu Woods […]
  2. countable A tyre whose compound is softer than superhards, and harder than mediums.
  3. slang, uncountable Crack cocaine.
  4. slang, uncountable Hard labor. The prisoners were sentenced to three years' hard.

hard²

  • /hɑːd/ UK
  • /hɑɹd/ US

Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)d

Where it comes from

From Middle English harden, herden, from Old English heardian (“to become hard”) and hierdan (“to make hard”), from Proto-West Germanic *hardēn and *hardijan, from Proto-Germanic *hardijaną.

Cognates

Cognate with Dutch harden (“to harden”), German härten (“to harden”), Danish hærde (“to harden; to temper”), Icelandic herða (“to harden”), Norwegian Bokmål herde (“to harden; to toughen”), Norwegian Nynorsk herda (“to make hard, temper; harden”), Swedish härda (“harden, temper”), Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐌷𐌰𐍂𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (gahardjan), *𐌷𐌰𐍂𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (*hardjan, “to harden”).

verb hards · harding · harded

  1. obsolete, transitive To make hard, harden. He knows vain men: he sees their harts that hard them In Guiles and Wiles, and will not hee regard them?

Hard³

Rhymes with -ɑː(ɹ)d

Where it comes from

* From Old English and Norman derivatives of Old French hardi (“tough, brave, hardy”). There are several Germanic variants of this origin, such as Swedish hård, Dutch hard, etc., all from Proto-Germanic *harduz.

* English topographical surname for farmers living on hard ground, from hard. This also appeared as the surname Hardacre.

proper noun Hards

  1. A surname.

HARD⁴

adjective

  1. mnemonic, not comparable An acronym for remembering desirable characteristics for goal-setting: heartfelt, animated, required, difficult. Unlike achievable and realistic goals that leave you stuck in the status-quo, HARD Goals light up the brain and encourage great performance.

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