tough
English · Français · Deutsch · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
tough¹
- /tʌf/ US, UK
- /tɐf/ Australia, New Zealand
- /tʊf/ Northern England
Sounds like tuff · Rhymes with -ʌf
Where it comes from
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”).
adjective tougher · toughest · tuff
-
Of a material, strong and resilient; sturdy.
The tent, made of tough canvas, held up to many abuses.
Similar: robust, stout, adamantine, concrete, firm, granitic, grim, hard, inflexible, lithic, resistant, rigid
-
Of food, difficult to cut or chew.
To soften a tough cut of meat, the recipe suggested simmering it for hours.
Similar: unchewable
- Of a person or animal, rugged or physically hardy. Only a tough species will survive in the desert.
-
Of a person, stubborn or persistent; capable of stubbornness or persistence.
He had a reputation as a tough negotiator.
Similar: hardheaded, tenacious, adamant, ardent, grim, untiring, bent on, bloody-minded, bullheaded, certain, chronic, confirmed
-
Of weather, harsh or severe.
Similar: inclement
-
Rowdy or rough.
A bunch of the tough boys from the wrong side of the tracks threatened him.
Similar: disorderly, unruly
- Cool, awesome, great. They played a Beatle interview album on WBZ Boston radio. Real tough!
-
Of a question, difficult or demanding.
This is a tough crowd.
Similar: challenging, hard, arduous, nasty, difficult, sticky, effortful, rough, rocky, thistly, tough, uneath
- Undergoing plastic deformation before breaking.
-
Strict, not lenient.
tough on crime
Similar: harsh, strict, brutal, callous, cold, insensate, hardhanded, cold-eyed, cruel, dour, thick-skinned, flint-hearted
interjection tuff
- Used to indicate lack of sympathy If you don't like it, tough!
noun toughs · tuff
- 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.
verb toughs · toughing · toughed · tuff
- To endure. 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.
- To toughen.
Tough²
proper noun
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: sturdy, hardened, hard-bitten, hard, tough-minded, toughie, difficult, bully, violent, rowdy, ruffianly, roughneck, ruffian, uncomfortable, yobbo, yobo
Translations
Every language
adj difficult to chew
| 日本語 | 硬い katai |
|---|---|
| Português | duro |
| Deutsch | zäh |
| Italiano | duro, coriaceo |
| Ελληνικά | σκληρός sklirós |
| Русский | жёсткий žóstkij |
| Tiếng Việt | khó nhai, dai |
adj rugged or physically hardy
| Español | recio |
|---|---|
| हिन्दी | सख़्त saxt, सख्त sakht |
| Português | resistente |
| Deutsch | widerstandsfähig |
| Italiano | duro, resistente |
| Ελληνικά | σκληρός sklirós, τραχύς trachýs |
| Tiếng Việt | dẻo dai, mạnh mẽ |
adj harsh or severe
| 日本語 | 辛い tsurai, たいへん taihen, きつい kitsui |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 艱苦 /艰苦 jiānkǔ |
| Português | severo |
| Русский | тяжёлый tjažólyj, тру́дный trúdnyj, тя́жкий tjážkij |
| Tiếng Việt | khắc nghiệt |
adj difficult or demanding
| Español | de mano dura, tetelque, tranca |
|---|---|
| Português | difícil |
| Français | dur |
| Deutsch | knifflig, schwierig |
| Tiếng Việt | khó, ngoan cố |
adj material science: undergoing plastic deformation before breaking
| Deutsch | zäh |
|---|---|
| Русский | про́чный próčnyj |
| Tiếng Việt | dẻo, bền |
intj lack of sympathy
| Español | ni modo |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Pech, Pech gehabt |
Talk about this word "tough." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tough. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. tough. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tough "tough." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tough.Cite this
@misc{tough_2026,
title = {tough},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tough},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
