tough

== English == === Alternative forms === tuff (eye dialect) === Etymology === From Middle English tough, towgh, tou, toȝ, from Old English tōh (“tough, tenacious, holding fast together; pliant; sticky, glutinous, clammy”), from Proto-West Germanic *tą̄h(ī), from Proto-Germanic *tanhuz (“fitting; clinging; tenacious; tough”), from *tinganą (“to press upon, throng”), from Proto-Indo-European *denḱ- (“to bite”). === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation, General American) IPA(key): /tʌf/ (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA(key): /tɐf/ (Northern England) IPA(key): /tʊf/ Rhymes: -ʌf Homophone: tuff === Adjective === tough (comparative tougher, superlative toughest) (of a material) Strong and resilient; sturdy. Synonyms: robust, stout; see also Thesaurus:hard (of food) Difficult to cut or chew. Synonym: unchewable (of a person or animal) Rugged or physically hardy. Synonyms: hardy, robust, vigorous (of a person) Stubborn or persistent; capable of stubbornness or persistence. Synonyms: hardheaded, tenacious; see also Thesaurus:obstinate (of weather, etc.) Harsh or severe. Synonym: inclement Rowdy or rough. Synonyms: disorderly, unruly (of questions, etc.) Difficult or demanding. Synonyms: challenging, hard; see also Thesaurus:difficult 1998, Lois Liederman Davitz, Joel Robert Davitz, 20 Tough Questions Teenagers Ask and 20 Tough Answers, Paulist Press, pages 6-7, But let's get back to the tough question about sex before marriage. And this is a tough question. In fact we would rank the question you've both raised as pretty high on our list of tough questions. 2010, Rushworth M. Kidder, Good Kids, Tough Choices, Wiley (Jossey-Bass), page 96, What Lara faced, in fact, falls right into the pool of light beneath our second lens: making tough choices. (material science) Undergoing plastic deformation before breaking. Strict, not lenient. Synonyms: harsh, strict; see also Thesaurus:stern ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== → German: taff → Swedish: tuff ==== Translations ==== === Interjection === tough (slang) Used to indicate lack of sympathy ==== Translations ==== === Noun === tough (plural toughs) A person who obtains things by force; a thug or bully. ==== Translations ==== === Verb === tough (third-person singular simple present toughs, present participle toughing, simple past and past participle toughed) To endure. To toughen. ==== Derived terms ==== tough out,tough it out ==== Translations ==== === Anagrams === ought == German == === Etymology === Borrowed from English tough; see also German taff. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /taf/ === Adjective === tough (strong nominative masculine singular tougher, comparative tougher, superlative am toughsten or am toughesten) (slang) alternative form of taff (“tough; robust; assertive and not overly sensitive”) ==== Declension ==== === Further reading === “tough” in Duden online “tough” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache == Middle English == === Noun === tough alternative form of tow