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51 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  Tough \Tough\, a. [Compar. Tougher; superl. Toughest.] [OE.
     tough, AS. t[=o]h, akin to D. taai, LG. taa, tage, tau, OHG.
     z[=a]hi, G. z[aum]he, and also to AS. getenge near to, close
     to, oppressive, OS. bitengi.]
     1. Having the quality of flexibility without brittleness;
        yielding to force without breaking; capable of resisting
        great strain; as, the ligaments of animals are remarkably
        tough. ``Tough roots and stubs. '' --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Not easily broken; able to endure hardship; firm; strong;
        -- of objects and people; as, tough sinews. --Cowper.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              A body made of brass, the crone demands, . . .
              Tough to the last, and with no toil to tire.
                                                    --Dryden.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The basis of his character was caution combined with
              tough tenacity of purpose.            --J. A.
                                                    Symonds.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Not easily separated; viscous; clammy; tenacious; as,
        tough phlegm.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. Stiff; rigid; not flexible; stubborn; as, a tough bow.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              So tough a frame she could not bend.  --Dryden.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. Severe; violent; as, a tough storm. [Colloq.] `` A tough
        debate. '' --Fuller.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     6. Difficult to do, perform, or accomplish; as, a tough job.
        [PJC]
  
     7. Prone to aggressive or violent behavior; rowdyish; -- of
        people, or groups; as, a tough neighborhood; a tough
        character.
        [PJC]
  
     To make it tough, to make it a matter of difficulty; to
        make it a hard matter. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]


  tough \tough\, n.
     A person who is tough[7]; a ruffian; a thug; as, a cluster of
     neighborhood toughs hanging out on the corner.
     [PJC]

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) : [ web1913 ]


  Tough \Tough\, a. [Compar. Tougher; superl. Toughest.] [OE.
     tough, AS. t[=o]h, akin to D. taai, LG. taa, tage, tau, OHG.
     z[=a]hi, G. z[aum]he, and also to AS. getenge near to, close
     to, oppressive, OS. bitengi.]
     1. Having the quality of flexibility without brittleness;
        yielding to force without breaking; capable of resisting
        great strain; as, the ligaments of animals are remarkably
        tough. ``Tough roots and stubs. '' --Milton.
  
     2. Not easily broken; able to endure hardship; firm; strong;
        as, tough sinews. --Cowper.
  
              A body made of brass, the crone demands, . . . Tough
              to the last, and with no toil to tire. --Dryden.
  
              The basis of his character was caution combined with
              tough tenacity of purpose.            --J. A.
                                                    Symonds.
  
     3. Not easily separated; viscous; clammy; tenacious; as,
        tough phlegm.
  
     4. Stiff; rigid; not flexible; stubborn; as, a tough bow.
  
              So tough a frame she could not bend.  --Dryden.
  
     5. Severe; violent; as, a tough storm. [Colloq.] `` A tough
        debate. '' --Fuller.
  
     To make it tough, to make it a matter of difficulty; to
        make it a hard matter. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

From WordNet (r) 2.0 : [ wn ]


  tough
       adj 1: not given to gentleness or sentimentality; "a tough
              character" [ant: tender]
       2: very difficult; severely testing stamina or resolution; "a
          rugged competitive examination"; "the rugged conditions of
          frontier life"; "the competition was tough"; "it's a tough
          life"; "it was a tough job" [syn: rugged]
       3: physically toughened; "the tough bottoms of his feet" [syn:
          toughened] [ant: tender]
       4: substantially made or constructed; "sturdy steel shelves";
          "sturdy canvas"; "a tough all-weather fabric"; "some
          plastics are as tough as metal" [syn: sturdy]
       5: violent and lawless; "the more ruffianly element"; "tough
          street gangs" [syn: ruffianly]
       6: feeling physical discomfort or pain (`tough' is occasionally
          used colloquially for `bad'); "my throat feels bad"; "she
          felt bad all over"; "he was feeling tough after a restless
          night" [syn: bad]
       7: tough to cut or chew [ant: tender]
       8: unfortunate or hard to bear; "had hard luck"; "a tough
          break" [syn: hard]
       n 1: someone who learned to fight in the streets rather than
            being formally trained in the sport of boxing [syn: street
            fighter]
       2: an aggressive and violent young criminal [syn: hood, hoodlum,
           goon, punk, thug, toughie, strong-armer]
       3: a cruel and brutal fellow [syn: bully, hooligan, ruffian,
           roughneck, rowdy, yob, yobo, yobbo]

From Greek Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-el-ALL-2023-07-27 ]


  tough
     Αγγλικά a.
     σκληρός

From English Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-ALL-2023-07-27 ]


  tough
     German a.
     (lb de slang) (alternative form of de taff nodot=1  tough; robust;
  assertive and not overly sensitive)
     Middle English n.
     (alt form enm tow)

From English Wiktionary: English language only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-en-2023-07-27 ]


  tough
     a.
     1 (lb en of a material) strong and resilient; sturdy.
     2 (lb en of food) difficult to cut or chew.
     3 (lb en of a person or animal) rugged or physically hardy.
     interj.
     (lb en slang) (non-gloss definition: Used to indicate lack of
  sympathy)
     n.
     A person who obtains things by force; a thug or bully.
     vb.
     1 To endure.
     2 To toughen.

From English Wiktionary: Western, Greek, and Slavonic languages only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-Western_Greek_Slavonic-2023-07-27 ]


  tough
     German a.
     (lb de slang) (alternative form of de taff nodot=1  tough; robust;
  assertive and not overly sensitive)
     Middle English n.
     (alt form enm tow)

From English Wiktionary: Western languages only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-Western-2023-07-27 ]


  tough
     German a.
     (lb de slang) (alternative form of de taff nodot=1  tough; robust;
  assertive and not overly sensitive)
     Middle English n.
     (alt form enm tow)

From Finnish Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-fi-ALL-2023-07-27 ]


  tough
     Englanti a.
     1 jäykkä
     2 vaikea, kova, hankala

From Swedish Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-sv-ALL-2023-07-27 ]


  tough
     Engelska a.
     tuff, rå, hård

From English-Arabic FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.6.3 : [ freedict:eng-ara ]


  Tough /tˈʌf/
  قاسي

From English-български език FreeDict+WikDict dictionary ver. 2023.05.29 : [ freedict:eng-bul ]


  tough //tʌf// 
  1. труден 2.
  difficult or demanding
   3.
  harsh or severe
  2. жилав, корав
  difficult to chew
  3. устойчив
  rugged or physically hardy