not soft; solid and firm to the touch; unyielding to pressure and impenetrable or almost impenetrable.

firmly formed; tight

a hard knot.

difficult to do or accomplish; fatiguing; troublesome

a hard task.

difficult or troublesome with respect to an action, situation, person, etc.

hard to please; a hard time.

difficult to deal with, manage, control, overcome, or understand

a hard problem.

involving a great deal of effort, energy, or persistence

hard labor; hard study.

performing or carrying on work with great effort, energy, or persistence

a hard worker.

vigorous or violent in force; severe

a hard rain; a hard fall.

bad; unendurable; unbearable

hard luck.

oppressive; harsh; rough

hard treatment.

austere; severe

a hard winter; the hard times of the Great Depression.

harsh or severe in dealing with others

a hard master.

difficult to explain away; undeniable

hard facts.

that can be verified; factual, as distinguished from speculation or hearsay

hard information.

harsh or unfriendly; resentful; severe; bitter

hard feelings; hard words.

of stern judgment or close examination; searching

a hard look.

lacking delicacy or softness; not blurred or diffused; clear and distinct; sharp; harsh

a hard line; a hard, bright light; hard features; a hard face.

(of a photograph) contrasty.

severe or rigorous in terms

a hard bargain.

sternly realistic; dispassionate; unsentimental

a hard, practical man; a hard view of life.

incorrigible; disreputable; tough

a hard character.

Scot. and North England . niggardly; stingy.

in coins or paper money as distinguished from checks, securities, promissory notes, or other negotiable instruments).

(of paper money or a monetary system) supported by sufficient gold reserves and easily convertible into the currency of a foreign nation.

(of money) scarce or available at high interest rates

a hard loan.

denoting assets with intrinsic value, as gold, silver, or diamonds.

(of alcoholic beverages)

containing more than 22.5 percent alcohol by volume, as whiskey and brandy as opposed to beer and wine.

strong because of fermentation; intoxicating

hard cider.

(of wine) tasting excessively of tannin.

(of an illicit narcotic or drug) known to be physically addictive, as opium, morphine, or cocaine.

(of water) containing mineral salts that interfere with the action of soap.

(of bread and baked goods)

having a firm, crisp crust or texture

hard rolls.

stale or tough.

(of a fabric) having relatively little nap; smooth

Silk is a harder fabric than wool or cotton.

(of the landing of a rocket or space vehicle) executed without decelerating

a hard landing on the moon. Compare soft def. 28

(of a missile base) equipped to launch missiles from underground silos.

(of a missile) capable of being launched from an underground silo.

Military . being underground and strongly protected from nuclear bombardment.

Agriculture . noting wheats with high gluten content, milled for a bread flour as contrasted with pastry flour.

Phonetics .

fortis.

(of c and g ) pronounced as (k) in come and (g) in go, rather than as in cent, cello, suspicion, gem, or beige.

(of consonants in Slavic languages) not palatalized. Compare soft ( def. 26 ) .

(in the making of rope) noting a lay having a considerable angle to the axis of the rope; short.

Physics . (of a beam of particles or photons) having relatively high energy

hard x-rays. Compare soft def. 29

(of the penis) erect.

with great exertion; with vigor or violence; strenuously

to work hard; to try hard.

earnestly, intently, or critically

to look hard at a thing.

harshly or severely.

so as to be solid, tight, or firm

frozen hard.

with strong force or impact

She tripped and came down hard on her back.

in a deeply affected manner; with genuine sorrow or remorse

She took it very hard when they told her of his death.

closely; immediately

Failure and defeat seemed hard at hand. The decision to ban students from the concerts followed hard on the heels of the riot.

to an unreasonable or extreme degree; excessively; immoderately

He's hitting the bottle pretty hard.

Nautical . closely, fully, or to the extreme limit

hard aport; hard alee.

Nautical . a firm or paved beach or slope convenient for hauling vessels out of the water.

British .

a firm or solid beach or foreshore.

a firm landing, jetty, or road across or adjoining the foreshore.

British Slang . hard labor. ?

be hard on

to deal harshly with; be stern

You are being too hard on him.

hard by

in close proximity to; near

The house is hard by the river.

hard of hearing. hearing-impaired.

hard put

in great perplexity or difficulty; at a loss

We were hard put to finish the examination in one hour.

hard up

Informal .

urgently in need of money.

feeling a lack or need

The country is hard up for technicians and doctors.

adjective

flexible , malleable , pliable , pliant , soft , yielding , easy , facile , mild , simple , merciful , nice , pleasant , sensitive , sympathetic , disputable , doubtful , inexact , questionable , uncertain , untrue

adverb

gently , softly , unenthusiastically , easily , moderately , indulgently , tolerantly , unfixedly , yielding

adjective

adamantine , callous , compact , compacted , compressed , concentrated , consolidated , dense , firm , hardened , impenetrable , indurate , indurated , inflexible , iron * , packed , rigid , rocky , set , solid , stiff , stony , strong , thick , tough , unyielding , arduous , backbreaking , bothersome , burdensome , complicated , demanding , difficile , distressing , effortful , exacting , fatiguing , formidable , grinding , hairy * , heavy * , herculean * , intricate , involved , irksome , knotty * , labored , laborious , mean , merciless , murder , onerous , operose , rigorous , rough , rugged , scabrous , serious , severe , slavish , sticky , strenuous , terrible , tiring , toilful , toilsome , troublesome , unsparing , uphill * , uphill battle , wearing , wearisome , wearying , acrimonious , angry , antagonistic , austere , bitter , bleak , brutal , cold , cold-blooded * , cold fish * , dark , disagreeable , dour , grievous , grim , hard as nails , hard-boiled * , harsh , hostile , inclement , intemperate , intolerable , obdurate , painful , perverse , pitiless , rancorous , resentful , stern , strict , stringent , stubborn , thick-skinned * , unfeeling , unjust , unkind , unpleasant , unrelenting , unsympathetic , vengeful , absolute , actual , bare , definite , down-to-earth , genuine , plain , positive , practical , pragmatic , realistic , sure , undeniable , unvarnished , verified , incompressible , hard-bitten , hard-handed , hardy , tall , uphill , difficult , exigent , heavy , oppressive , taxing , trying , weighty , hefty , powerful , stark , cold-hearted , compassionless , hard-boiled , hardhearted , heartless , stonyhearted , embittered , virulent

adverb

actively , angrily , animatedly , boisterously , briskly , brutally , cruelly , earnestly , energetically , ferociously , fiercely , forcibly , frantically , furiously , heavily , intensely , keenly , like fury , madly , meanly , painfully , powerfully , relentlessly , rigorously , roughly , rowdily , savagely , seriously , severely , sharply , spiritedly , sprightly , stormily , strongly , tumultously/tumultuously , turbulently , uproariously , urgently , viciously , vigorously , violently , vivaciously , wildly , with all one’s might , assiduously , closely , diligently , doggedly , exhaustively , industriously , intensively , intently , painstakingly , persistently , searchingly , steadily , strenuously , thoroughly , unremittingly , untiringly , agonizingly , arduously , awkwardly , badly , burdensomely , carefully , cumbersomely , cumbrously , distressingly , exhaustingly , gruelingly , hardly , harshly , inconveniently , laboriously , ponderously , tiredly , toilsomely , unwieldily , with great effort , bitterly , rancorously , reluctantly , slowly , sorely , close , fast , firm , firmly , solidly , steadfastly , tight , tightly