Word

tough, adj.
freq. cnt. 20

not given to gentleness or sentimentality
<adj.all> freq. cnt.: 9 freq. cnt.: 9

tough

sample sentences

"a tough character"

lexical pointers

antonym

tender

semantic pointers

also see

hard insensitive

very difficult; severely testing stamina or resolution
<adj.all> freq. cnt.: 5 freq. cnt.: 5

rugged tough

sample sentences

"a rugged competitive examination"
"the rugged conditions of frontier life"
"the competition was tough"
"it's a tough life"
"it was a tough job"

lexical pointers

derivationally related form

toughness

lexical pointers

derivationally related form

ruggedness

semantic pointers

similar to

difficult, hard

substantially made or constructed
<adj.all> freq. cnt.: 2 freq. cnt.: 2

sturdy tough

sample sentences

"sturdy steel shelves"
"sturdy canvas"
"a tough all-weather fabric"
"some plastics are as tough as metal"

lexical pointers

derivationally related form

sturdiness

semantic pointers

similar to

rugged

physically toughened
<adj.all> freq. cnt.: 2 freq. cnt.: 2

tough toughened

sample sentences

"the tough bottoms of his feet"

lexical pointers

antonym

tender

semantic pointers

also see

experienced, experient rugged strong

feeling physical discomfort or pain (`tough' is occasionally used colloquially for `bad')
<adj.all> freq. cnt.: 4 freq. cnt.: 3 freq. cnt.: 1

bad tough

sample sentences

"my throat feels bad"
"she felt bad all over"
"he was feeling tough after a restless night"

lexical pointers

derivationally related form

badness

semantic pointers

similar to

uncomfortable

domain of synset (usage)

colloquialism

violent and lawless
<adj.all> freq. cnt.: 1 freq. cnt.: 1

ruffianly tough

sample sentences

"the more ruffianly element"
"tough street gangs"

lexical pointers

derivationally related form

ruffian

semantic pointers

similar to

violent

making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe
<adj.all> freq. cnt.: 2 freq. cnt.: 1 freq. cnt.: 1

baffling elusive knotty problematic problematical tough