Tough

Making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe

Very difficult; severely testing stamina or resolution

Synonyms

Rugged

Similar to

Hard

Difficult

Derivation

Toughness

Examples

The competition was tough

It's a tough life

It was a tough job

Someone who learned to fight in the streets rather than being formally trained in the sport of boxing

Unfortunate or hard to bear

Synonyms

Hard

Similar to

Bad

Examples

A tough break

Violent and lawless

Synonyms

Ruffianly

Similar to

Violent

Examples

Tough street gangs

Physically toughened

Synonyms

Toughened

Antonyms

Tender

Examples

The tough bottoms of his feet

An aggressive and violent young criminal

A cruel and brutal fellow

Substantially made or constructed

Synonyms

Sturdy

Similar to

Rugged

Examples

A tough all-weather fabric

Some plastics are as tough as metal

Feeling physical discomfort or pain (`tough' is occasionally used colloquially for `bad')

Synonyms

Bad

Usage of

Colloquialism

Similar to

Uncomfortable

Examples

He was feeling tough after a restless night

Not given to gentleness or sentimentality

Resistant to cutting or chewing