Noun of the word hard

English[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English hard, from Old English heard, from Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī), from Proto-Germanic *harduz, from Proto-Indo-European *kort-ús, from *kret- (“strong, powerful”). Cognate with German hart, Swedish hård, Ancient Greek κρατύς (kratús), Sanskrit क्रतु (krátu), Avestan 𐬑𐬭𐬀𐬙𐬎‎ (xratu).

Pronunciation[edit]

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: häd, IPA^(key): /hɑːd/

• Audio (southern England)

  (file)

• (General American) enPR: härd, IPA^(key): /hɑɹd/
• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)d

Adjective[edit]

hard (comparative harder, superlative hardest)

1. (of material or fluid) Having a severe property; presenting difficulty.
   1. Resistant to pressure.

      This bread is so stale and hard, I can barely cut it.

   2. (of drink or drugs) Strong.
   3. (of a normally nonalcoholic drink) Containing alcohol.

      hard cider, hard lemonade, hard seltzer, hard soda

   4. (of water) High in dissolved chemical salts, especially those of calcium.
   5. (physics, of a ferromagnetic material) Having the capability of being a permanent magnet by being a material with high magnetic coercivity (compare soft).
   6. (physics, of electromagnetic radiation) Having a high energy (high frequency; short wavelength).

      hard X-rays

   7. (photography, of light) Made up of parallel rays, producing clearly defined shadows.
2. (personal or social) Having a severe property; presenting difficulty.
   1. Difficult or requiring a lot of effort to do, understand, experience, or deal with.

      a hard problem;  a hard question;  a hard topic

      • 1988, An Oracle, Edmund White

        Ray found it hard to imagine having accumulated so many mannerisms before the dawn of sex, of the sexual need to please, of the staginess sex encourages or the tightly capped wells of poisoned sexual desire the disappointed must stand guard over.
   2. Demanding a lot of effort to endure.

      a hard life

   4. Severe, harsh, unfriendly, brutal.

      a hard master;  a hard heart;  hard words;  a hard character

      The senator asked the party chief to put the hard word on his potential rivals.

      • 1730, Henry Fielding, Rape upon Rape, Act 4, Scene 7:

        Leave off fornicating; leave the girls to the boys, and stand to thy bottle; it is a virtue becoming our years; and don’t be too hard on a wild honest young rake.

   5. (dated) Difficult to resist or control; powerful.
      • 1716 March 23 (Gregorian calendar)​, Joseph Addison, “The Free-holder: No. 24. Monday, March 12. [1716.]”, in The Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison, Esq; […], volume IV, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], published 1721, →OCLC:

        a power which will be always too hard for them

   6. (military) Hardened; having unusually strong defences.

      a hard site

   7. (slang) Tough and muscular.

      He thinks he’s well hard.

3. Unquestionable, unequivocal.

   hard evidence;  a hard requirement

   • 1796, The History of the Trial of Warren Hastings‎^[1]:

     […] for, unless supported by hard facts, abusive words would recoil on him who used them, and would pass like empty air over the head of an innocent man.

   • 1962, The Selling Power of a Woman‎^[2]:

     Here are a few techniques to turn a hard «no» into an easy «yes»!

   • 2011 December 19, Kerry Brown, “Kim Jong-il obituary”, in The Guardian:

     Unsurprisingly for a man who went into mourning for three years after the death in 1994 of his own father, the legendary leader Kim Il-sung, and who in the first 30 years of his political career made no public statements, even to his own people, Kim’s career is riddled with claims, counter claims, speculation, and contradiction. There are few hard facts about his birth and early years.

4. (of a road intersection) Having a comparatively larger or a ninety-degree angle.

   At the intersection, there are two roads going to the left. Take the hard left.

5. (slang, vulgar, of a male) Sexually aroused; having an erect penis.

   I got so hard watching two hot girls wrestle each other on the beach.

6. (bodybuilding) Having muscles that are tightened as a result of intense, regular exercise.
7. (phonetics, not comparable) Fortis.
   1. Plosive.

      There is a hard c in «clock» and a soft c in «centre».

   2. Unvoiced.

      Hard k, t, s, ch, as distinguished from soft, g, d, z, j.

8. (Slavic phonology) Velarized or plain, rather than palatalized.

   The letter ж (ž) in Russian is always hard.

9. (art) Having a severe property; presenting a barrier to enjoyment.
   1. Rigid in the drawing or distribution of the figures; formal; lacking grace of composition.
   2. Having disagreeable and abrupt contrasts in colour or shading.
10. (not comparable)
    1. In a physical form, not digital.

       a soft or hard copy; a digital or hard archive

    2. Using a manual or physical process, not by means of a software command.

       a hard reboot or reset

11. (politics) Far, extreme.

12. Of silk: not having had the natural gum boiled off.
13. (finance) Of a market: having more demand than supply; being a seller’s market.

    Antonym: soft

    • 2009, J. David Cummins, Olivier Mahul, Catastrophe Risk Financing in Developing Countries (page 7)

      Undercapitalized insurers cannot retain more catastrophe risks when the market is hard […]

14. (of pornography) hardcore

Synonyms[edit]

• (resistant to pressure): resistant, solid, stony, see also Thesaurus:hard
• (requiring a lot of effort to do or understand): confusing, difficult, puzzling, tough, tricky
• (requiring a lot of effort to endure): difficult, intolerable, tough, unbearable
• (severe): harsh, hostile, severe, strict, tough, unfriendly
• (unquestionable): incontrovertible, indubitable, unambiguous, unequivocal, unquestionable
• (of drink): strong
• See also Thesaurus:difficult

Antonyms[edit]

• (resistant to pressure): soft
• (requiring a lot of effort to do or understand): easy, simple, straightforward, trite
• (requiring a lot of effort to endure): bearable, easy
• (severe): agreeable, amiable, approachable, friendly, nice, pleasant
• (unquestionable): controvertible, doubtful, ambiguous, equivocal, questionable
• (of drink):
  • (low in alcohol): low-alcohol
  • (non-alcoholic): alcohol-free, soft, non-alcoholic
• (of roads): soft
• (sexually aroused): soft, flaccid
• (phonetics, all senses): soft

Derived terms[edit]

Pages starting with “hard”.

[edit]

• hardpeer
• hardy

Descendants[edit]

• → Finnish: haarti
• → Spanish: hard

Translations[edit]

Adverb[edit]

hard (comparative harder, superlative hardest)

1. (manner) With much force or effort.

   He hit the puck hard up the ice.

   They worked hard all week.

   At the intersection, bear hard left.

   The recession hit them especially hard.

   Think hard about your choices.

   The couple were fucking each other hard.

   • 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

     […] My father / Is hard at study. Pray now, rest yourself;

   • prayed so hard for mercy from the prince

   • 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 164:

     I played hard, I drank hard, I rode hard, and did everything much on the same pattern.

   • 1985, Michael A. Arbib, In search of the person: philosophical explorations in cognitive science, page 119:

     What, then, of the voluntarist’s sense that one often has to think long and hard before making agonizing choices?

2. (manner) With difficulty.

   His degree was hard earned.

3. (obsolete) So as to raise difficulties.
4. (manner) Compactly.

   The lake had finally frozen hard.

5. (now archaic) Near, close.

   • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], part 1, 2nd edition, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene iii:

     The King your brother is now hard at hand,
     Meete with the foole, and rid your royall ſhoulders
     Of ſuch a burden, as outweighs the ſands
     And all the craggie rockes of Caſpea.

   • […] whose house joined hard to the synagogue.

   • 1999, George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings, Bantam 2011, page 418:

     It was another long day’s march before they glimpsed the towers of Harrenhal in the distance, hard beside the blue waters of the lake.

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

hard (countable and uncountable, plural hards)

1. (countable, nautical) A firm or paved beach or slope convenient for hauling vessels out of the water.
   • 1952, Edward John Barrington Douglas-Scott-Montagu Baron Montagu, Beaulieu, the Abbey, Palace House, and Buckler’s Hard (page 36)

     The Monastery’s ironworks at Sowley were renowned for centuries but declined with the passing of the ‘wooden walls’ at Buckler’s Hard — a great number of these ships having been built with timber from the Beaulieu Woods […]

2. (countable, motorsports) A tyre whose compound is softer than superhards, and harder than mediums.
3. (uncountable, drugs, slang) Crack cocaine.
4. (uncountable, slang) Hard labor.

   The prisoners were sentenced to three years’ hard.

Anagrams[edit]

• Dhar

Dutch[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /ɦɑrt/
• Hyphenation: hard
• Rhymes: -ɑrt
• Homophone: hart

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle Dutch hart, from Old Dutch hart, from Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī), from Proto-Germanic *harduz.

Adjective[edit]

hard (comparative harder, superlative hardst)

1. hard, strong

   Antonym: zacht

2. (economics, of a currency) strong, not easily devalued
3. unquestionable, uncontestable

4. heartless, unsympathetic (of a person)

   Antonym: zacht

5. hard, difficult

   een harde strijd

   a difficult fight

6. harsh, heavy

   harde straffen

   harsh punishments

   een harde regen

   heavy rain

7. hard, rich in calcium (of water)

   Antonym: zacht

8. loud (of sound)

   Synonym: luid

   Antonym: zacht

9. fast

   Antonyms: langzaam, traag

   Synonym: snel

Inflection[edit]

Inflection of hard
uninflected	hard
inflected	harde
comparative	harder
	positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial	hard	harder	het hardst het hardste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	harde	hardere	hardste
n. sing.	hard	harder	hardste
plural	harde	hardere	hardste
definite	harde	hardere	hardste
partitive	hards	harders	—

Derived terms[edit]

• keihard
• harden
• hardheid
• hardlopen
• hardroeien
• hardrijden

Descendants[edit]

• Jersey Dutch: hārd
• Negerhollands: hart
• Skepi Creole Dutch: hardt

Etymology 2[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Adverb[edit]

hard

1. (speed) fast, swiftly

   Ik heb een bekeuring gekregen omdat ik te hard heb gereden.

   I got a ticket because I drove too fast.

2. very
3. loudly

Etymology 3[edit]

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb[edit]

hard

1. first-person singular present indicative of harden
2. imperative of harden

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English hard.

Pronunciation[edit]

• ^{(aspirated h)} IPA^(key): /aʁd/

Adjective[edit]

hard (plural hards)

1. (of pornography) hardcore

   Des photos hards.

   Hardcore pictures.

Noun[edit]

hard m (plural hards)

1. hardcore pornography

   Le Journal du hard est une émission de Canal + dédiée au cinéma pornographique.

   Le Journal du hard («Hard Porn News») is a broadcast by Canal+ dedicated to pornographic films.

2. hard rock

   Elle adore le hard et le headbang.

   She just loves hard rock and headbanging.

   • 2004, Thomas Mansier, Identité du rock et presse spécialisée. Évolution d’une culture et de son discours critique dans les magazines français des années 90, page 98.

     Le hard semble ainsi capable de remplir le contrat originel du rock.

     As such, hard rock seems capable of fulfilling the original purpose of rock.

   • 2014, Christian Eudeline, «Uriah Heep. Look At Yourself», in Du hard rock au métal. Les 100 albums cultes, Gründ (publ.).

     Au croisement du hard et du prog, Uriah Heep […] enregistre là son meilleur disque, pourtant, leurs paroles pseudo-lyriques et leurs envolées déplaisaient.

     At the crossroads of hard rock and prog rock, Uriah Heep […] records its best disc there; however, their pseudo-lyrical texts and their take-offs were disliked.

Irish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): [haːɾˠd̪ˠ]

Adjective[edit]

hard

1. h-prothesized form of ard

Middle English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

• harde

Etymology[edit]

From Old English heard, from Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī), from Proto-Germanic *harduz.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /hard/

Adjective[edit]

hard

1. hard

Descendants[edit]

• English: hard
• Yola: hard

References[edit]

• “hard, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse harðr, from Proto-Germanic *harduz.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /hɑːɾ/, /hɑːɽ/
• Homophone: har

Adjective[edit]

hard (neuter singular hardt, definite singular and plural harde, comparative hardere, indefinite superlative hardest, definite superlative hardeste)

1. hard (not soft)
2. hard, stern, severe
3. hardy

Derived terms[edit]

• beinhard
• hardhet
• hardkokt
• hardtslående

[edit]

• forherde
• herde

References[edit]

• “hard” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Norse harðr, from Proto-Germanic *harduz.

Pronunciation[edit]

• IPA^(key): /hɑːr/, /hɑːɽ/
• Homophone: har

Adjective[edit]

hard (neuter hardt, definite singular and plural harde, comparative hardare, indefinite superlative hardast, definite superlative hardaste)

1. hard
2. hard, stern, severe
3. hardy

Derived terms[edit]

• beinhard
• hardkokt

References[edit]

• “hard” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old Saxon[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī).

Adjective[edit]

hard (comparative hardiro, superlative hardist)

1. hard

Declension[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

• hardī

Descendants[edit]

• Low German: hard, hart (inflected hart-)

Spanish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English hard.

Adjective[edit]

hard (invariable)

1. hard, heavy, hardcore

Yola[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English hard, from Old English heard, from Proto-West Germanic *hard(ī).

Adjective[edit]

hard

1. hard

   • 1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, in SONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 11:

     W’ vengem too hard, he zunk ee commane,

     With venom too hard, he sunk his bat-club,

References[edit]

• Jacob Poole (1867), William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, page 88

[hɑːd]

Анаграммы

Слова, состоящие из тех же букв, что и hard:

dhar.

Частота употребления

Кол-во употреблений hard на 1 миллион слов: 83.

Примеры предложений

Mary played hard to get.
Мэри строила из себя недотрогу.

Learning English is hard work.
Изучение английского — тяжелый труд.

It’s raining pretty hard right now.
Сейчас довольно сильный дождь.

Michael had a hard time making ends meet.
Майкл с трудом сводил концы с концами.

It’s hard for Tom to talk about that.
Тому тяжело об этом говорить.

However hard it may rain, we will start tomorrow.
Как бы сильно ни лил дождь, мы начнём завтра.

It is hard to believe that actually happened.
Трудно поверить, что это вообще произошло.

Tom didn’t have any hard evidence, but he thought Mary was the one who stole his mother’s diamond ring.
У Тома не было веских доказательств, но он считал, что именно Мэри украла бриллиантовое кольцо его матери.

It won’t be so hard to do that.
Это будет не так трудно сделать.

I don’t think Tom tried hard enough.
Не думаю, что Том достаточно старался.

It’s hard for me to understand Italian when it is spoken quickly.
Мне трудно понимать итальянский, когда речь очень быстрая.

You’re a hard person to refuse.
От тебя трудно отказаться.

This riddle was hard to solve.
Эту загадку разгадать было трудно.

Reality and fantasy are hard to distinguish.
Реальность и фантазию сложно различить.

It’s hard not to like them.
Их трудно не любить.

It’s hard to breathe.
Трудно дышать.

I am very tired from the hard work.
Я очень устала от тяжёлой работы.

I study math as hard as English.
Я изучаю математику так же старательно, как английский.

Tom is having a hard time.
Тому сейчас трудно приходится.

I know how hard this must be.
Я знаю, насколько это, должно быть, тяжело.

Stop playing hard to get.
Хватит разыгрывать из себя недотрогу.

He is trying to study as hard as he can.
Он пытается учиться настолько усердно, насколько может.

He studied hard in order to pass the test.
Он усердно занимался, чтобы пройти этот тест.

He doesn’t study as hard as he used to.
Он не учится так же усердно, как раньше.

It’s too hard to explain.
Это слишком трудно объяснить.

No matter how hard you try, you won’t be able to do it.
Неважно, как сильно ты стараешься, ты всё равно не сможешь сделать это.

That might not be as hard as you think it’s going to be.
Это может быть не так тяжело, как ты думаешь.

Tom was looking for Mary, but it was raining hard and he didn’t see her.
Том искал Мэри, но шёл сильный дождь, и он её не увидел.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remember that song’s title.
Как я ни старался, я так и не смог вспомнить название этой песни.

It’s hard to talk about your feelings.
Трудно говорить о своих чувствах.

жесткий, трудный, твердый, жестко, твердо, тяжело, каторга, брод

прилагательное ↓

наречие ↓

существительное ↓

Словосочетания

a hard left to the chin — сильный удар с левой в челюсть  
a Teutonic commitment to hard work — тевтонская приверженность к упорной работе  
a hard theory to put into practice — труднореализуемая на практике теория  
hard / heavy / severe blow — сильный, тяжёлый удар  
hard copy — напечатанный на бумаге рекламный текст  
hard of digestion — трудно усваиваемый  
a dose of hard luck — полоса невезения  
to drink hard / heavily — пить беспробудно, пить запоем  
hard drinker, heavy drinker — горький пьяница  
hard drug — сильный наркотик  
to be accustomed to working hard — иметь обыкновение много работать  
to be hard at work — усердно работать  

Примеры с переводом

Примеры, ожидающие перевода

Фразовые глаголы

hard up — в трудном положении, сильно нуждающийся, нуждающийся

Возможные однокоренные слова

harden  — затвердевать, затвердеть, твердеть, укреплять, укрепляться, ожесточаться
hardily  — смело
hardiness  — выносливость, крепость, смелость, дерзость
hardly  — вряд ли, едва, едва ли, чуть, с трудом, еле, насилу, резко, сурово, несправедливо
hardness  — твердость, жесткость, прочность, плотность, крепость, степень твердости, суровость
hardship  — трудность, лишение, лишения, нужда, тяжелое испытание, неудобство
harding  — закалка
hardish  — твердоватый, жестковатый
overhard  — слишком твердый

Формы слова

adjective
срав. степ. (comparative): harder
прев. степ. (superlative): hardest

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We women are way too hard on ourselves. I don’t know who some women are dressing for, but we should be celebrating our bodies.

Jessica Collins

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD HARD

Old English heard; related to Old Norse harthr, Old Frisian herd, Old High German herti, Gothic hardus hard, Greek kratus strong.

PRONUNCIATION OF HARD

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF HARD

Hard can act as a noun, an adjective and an adverb.

WHAT DOES HARD MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Definition of hard in the English dictionary

The first definition of hard in the dictionary is firm or rigid; not easily dented, crushed, or pierced. Other definition of hard is toughened by or as if by physical labour; not soft or smooth. Hard is also difficult to do or accomplish; arduous.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH HARD

SYNONYMS OF «HARD»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «hard» and belong to the same grammatical category.

TRANSLATION OF HARD

Find out the translation of hard to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «HARD»

The term «hard» is very widely used and occupies the 980 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.

Principal search tendencies and common uses of hard

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «HARD» OVER TIME

10 QUOTES WITH «HARD»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word hard.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «HARD»

Discover the use of hard in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to hard and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «HARD»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term hard is used in the context of the following news items.

REFERENCE

« EDUCALINGO. Hard [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/hard>. Apr 2023 ».

hardness. The quality of being hard. An instance of this quality; hardship.

Is hardness a concrete noun?

Answer. Answer: On other words abstract nouns are the words which cannot be experienced through sensory organs. Therefore the abstract noun for ‘hard’ is hardness Herein ,abstract noun ‘hardness’ refers to the noun which can not be senced by smell ,eyes touch,or test.

What is the difference between concept and abstract?

is that abstract is an abridgement or summary while concept is an understanding retained in the mind, from experience, reasoning and/or imagination; a generalization (generic, basic form), or abstraction (mental impression), of a particular set of instances or occurrences (specific, though different, recorded …

What makes a nation happy?

The difference is significant. The World Happiness Report’s researchers say that most people’s happiness is driven by strong economic growth, healthy life expectancy, trust, generosity, quality social relationships, and the freedom to live and work as they prefer.

What are some happy things to think about?

Happy Thoughts: Here are the things proven to make you happier:

• Gratitude, Gratitude, Gratitude.
• Do what you are good at as often as you can.
• Spend as much time as possible with people you like.
• Money is good. Many other things are better.
• Give.
• Savor.
• Strive.
• Be optimistic, even to the border of delusion.

What are three things you need to be happy?

The classic author James Addison wrote about that. He said there are “three grand essentials to happiness in this life.” They are “something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.” When those three things are in good shape, your life and work has meaning.

How can I be happy everyday?

Daily habits

1. Smile. You tend to smile when you’re happy.
2. Exercise. Exercise isn’t just for your body.
3. Get plenty of sleep.
4. Eat with mood in mind.
5. Be grateful.
6. Give a compliment.
7. Breathe deeply.
8. Acknowledge the unhappy moments.