hard

hard¹ W1S1 [ha:d US ha:rd] adj comparative harder superlative hardest

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1¦(firm to touch)¦

2¦(difficult)¦

3¦(work/effort)¦

4¦(full of problems)¦

5 be hard on somebody

6 be hard on something

7 do something the hard way

8¦(using force)¦

9 hard evidence/facts/information etc

10¦(unkind)¦

11 hard going

12 make hard work of something

13 be hard at it/work

14¦(water)¦

15 hard luck

16 give somebody a hard time

17 have a hard time

18 drive/strike a hard bargain

19 hard feelings

20 take a (long) hard look at something/somebody

21 hard line

22 hard news

23¦(not frightened)¦

24 (as) hard as nails

25 a hard taskmaster/master

26 a hard winter/frost

27 the hard left/right

28¦(light)¦

29¦(alcohol)¦

30 a hard left/right

31¦(pronunciation)¦

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[: Old English; Origin: heard]

1.) ¦(FIRM TO TOUCH)¦

firm, stiff, and difficult to press down, break, or cut

≠ ↑soft

▪ a hard wooden chair

▪ the hardest substance known to man

▪ After months without rain, the ground was too hard to plough.

2.) ¦(DIFFICULT)¦

difficult to do or understand

= ↑difficult

≠ ↑easy

▪ This year's exam was much harder than last year's.

▪ You'll have to make some hard decisions.

▪ They're a hard team to beat.

it is hard to believe/imagine/see/know etc

▪ It was hard to see what else we could have done.

▪ It's hard to believe that anyone would say something like that.

find it hard to do sth

▪ I was finding it hard to concentrate.

▪ Permanent jobs are hard to come by (=difficult to find or get) .

be hard for sb

▪ It must be hard for her, bringing up three kids on her own.

▪ Telling my parents is going to be the hardest thing about it.

have a hard time doing sth

(=be difficult for someone to do something)

▪ You'll have a hard time proving that.

▪ I had a hard time persuading him to accept the offer.

▪ Such criticism was hard to take (=difficult to accept) .

3.) ¦(WORK/EFFORT)¦ [usually before noun]

using or involving a lot of mental or physical effort

▪ To be successful in sport requires hard work and a great deal of determination.

▪ After a hard day at work, I just want to come home and put my feet up.

a hard day's work/walking/skiing etc

▪ There's a sauna where you can relax after a hard day's skiing.

▪ Becoming a doctor never interested him. It was too much like hard work (=it would involve too much work) .

4.) ¦(FULL OF PROBLEMS)¦

a situation or time that is hard is one in which you have a lot of problems, especially when you do not have enough money

▪ She's had a hard life .

▪ Times were hard and they were forced to sell their house.

▪ He had clearly fallen on hard times (=did not have much money) .

5.) be hard on sb

a) to criticize someone in a way that is unfair, or to be too strict with them

▪ Perhaps I'm too hard on her.

b) to have a bad effect on someone

▪ Divorce can be very hard on children.

6.) be hard on sth

to have a bad effect on something

▪ Standing all day is very hard on the feet.

7.) do sth the hard way

to learn, achieve, or do something after a bad experience or by making mistakes

▪ He learned the hard way about the harsh reality of the boxing world.

▪ Make sure you put the baby's diaper on before you start feeding her. I learned this lesson the hard way .

▪ He earned his promotion the hard way.

8.) ¦(USING FORCE)¦

using a lot of force

▪ Jane gave the door a good hard push.

▪ She gave him a hard slap.

9.) hard evidence/facts/information etc

facts that are definitely true and can be proved

▪ There is no hard evidence to support this theory.

10.)¦(UNKIND)¦

showing no sympathetic or gentle feelings

▪ a hard face

▪ Her voice was hard and cold.

▪ You're a hard man, John.

11.) hard going

a) difficult to do and needing a lot of effort

▪ A strong wind made the race very hard going.

b) boring, or difficult to deal with, talk to etc

▪ I find some of his friends pretty hard going.

12.) make hard work of sth

to make something you are doing seem more difficult than it really is

▪ Juventus were making hard work of what should have been an easy game.

13.) be hard at it/work informal

to be very busy doing something

▪ Sarah was hard at it on her computer.

14.) ¦(WATER)¦

hard water contains a lot of minerals, and does not mix easily with soap

≠ ↑soft

15.) hard luck

a) BrE spoken used to tell someone that you feel sorry for them because they have not succeeded in what they were trying to do

▪ 'I failed my driving test.' 'Oh, hard luck!'

b) when bad things happen to you that are not your fault

▪ You've had your share of hard luck.

hard luck on

▪ It was hard luck on you.

c) spoken also hard cheese BrE

used to say that you do not care if someone is having problems, does not like something etc

▪ If you don't like the idea then hard luck!

▪ 'He doesn't know what to do.' 'Well that's his hard luck!'

16.) give sb a hard time informal

a) to treat someone badly or cause problems for them

▪ Giving you a hard time, is she?

▪ They reached the border where officials gave them a hard time.

b) to criticize someone a lot

▪ Hostile critics have given Hartman a hard time.

17.) have a hard time

to have a lot of problems or bad experiences

▪ I'm glad she's happy at last - she's had such a hard time.

▪ Vegetarians still often have a hard time of it when it comes to eating out.

18.) drive/strike a hard bargain

to demand a lot or refuse to give too much when you are making an agreement

▪ The company is believed to have struck a hard bargain.

19.) hard feelings

a) anger between people because of something that has happened

▪ We'd known each other too long for hard feelings.

▪ I have no hard feelings towards Steve.

b) no hard feelings

spoken used to tell someone that you do not want to be angry with them or for them to be angry with you

▪ I'm sorry it didn't work out, but no hard feelings, eh?

20.) take a (long) hard look at sth/sb

to think carefully about something, especially with the result that you change your opinions or behaviour

▪ You should take a long hard look at the issues before committing yourself.

▪ Newspaper editors should take a long hard look at themselves and clean up their act.

21.) hard line

a strict way of dealing with someone or something

▪ The president should abandon his hard line in the region.

take/adopt a hard line (on sth)

▪ The school takes a very hard line on drugs.

22.) hard news

news stories that are about serious subjects or events

▪ TV news programs seem to be more interested in gossip than in hard news.

23.) ¦(NOT FRIGHTENED)¦

BrE spoken strong, ready to fight, and not afraid of anyone or anything

▪ He thinks he's really hard.

▪ Jones was known as soccer's hard man .

24.) (as) hard as nails

someone who is hard as nails seems to have no feelings such as fear or sympathy

25.) a hard taskmaster/master

someone who makes people work too hard

26.) a hard winter/frost

a very cold winter or ↑frost

≠ ↑mild

27.) the hard left/right

people who have extreme ↑left-wing or ↑right-wing political aims and ideas

= far left/right, extreme ↑extreme

▪ concerns about the re-emergence of the hard right in some areas

28.) ¦(LIGHT)¦

especially literary hard light is bright and unpleasant

= ↑harsh

▪ the hard brilliance of the moonlight

29.) ¦(ALCOHOL)¦ [only before noun] informal

very strong

▪ hard liquor

▪ I never touch the hard stuff (=strong alcohol) .

→↑hard drugs

30.)a hard left/right

a big turn to the left or right, for example when you are driving

= ↑sharp

31.) ¦(PRONUNCIATION)¦

a hard 'c' is pronounced /k/ rather than /s/; a hard 'g' is pronounced /g/ rather than /dz/

→↑soft

>hardness n [U]

▪ a material that would combine the flexibility of rubber with the hardness of glass

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WORD FOCUS: hard

hard and not bending: solid, firm, stiff, rigid

meat that is too hard: tough

skin that is old and hard: leathery, calloused

hard and easily broken: brittle

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hard ²

hard² W2S1 adv comparative harder superlative hardest

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1¦(using energy/effort)¦

2¦(with force)¦

3¦(become solid)¦

4 be hard hit/be hit hard

5 be hard put/pressed/pushed to do something

6 be/feel hard done by

7 take something hard

8 hard upon/on something

9 laugh/cry hard

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1.) ¦(USING ENERGY/EFFORT)¦

using a lot of effort, energy, or attention

▪ She has worked hard all her life.

▪ He had thought long and hard before getting involved with the project.

▪ She tried her hardest to ignore what he'd said.

▪ Ella was concentrating very hard.

▪ I couldn't convince him no matter how hard I tried.

▪ Sam stared hard at the floor.

2.) ¦(WITH FORCE)¦

with a lot of force

▪ You need to hit the ball hard.

▪ He slammed the door hard behind him.

▪ It was raining very hard.

3.) ¦(BECOME SOLID)¦

becoming solid, stiff, or firm

▪ By now the cement had set hard.

4.) be hard hit/be hit hard

to be badly affected by something that has happened

▪ Sales were hard hit by high interest rates.

5.) be hard put/pressed/pushed to do sth informal

to have difficulty doing something

▪ You'd be hard pressed to find anyone better for the job.

→↑hard-pressed

6.) be/feel hard done by informal

to be or feel unfairly treated

▪ As a child I felt hard done by, living so far away from my friends.

7.) take sth hard

to be very upset about something, especially bad news

▪ Alan took his mother's death particularly hard.

8.) hard upon/on sth

BrE formal soon after something

▪ His second major contract followed hard upon the first.

9.) laugh/cry hard

to laugh, cry etc a lot

▪ He laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes

→↑hard by, ↑hard up,(hard/hot/close) on sb's heels at ↑heel¹ (7b), (hard/hot/close) on the heels of sth at ↑heel¹ (7a)

→play hard to get at ↑play¹ (23)