tough as in someone who learned to fight in the streets rather than being formally trained in the sport of boxing
Synonyms
- street fightera contestant who is very aggressive and willing to use underhand methods ; someone who learned to fight in the streets rather than being formally trained in the sport of boxing
tough as in an aggressive and violent young criminal
Synonyms
- hoodcover with a hood; an aggressive and violent young criminal ; a protective covering that is part of a plant ; (slang) a neighborhood ; a tubular attachment used to keep stray light out of the lens of a camera ; (falconry) a leather covering for a hawk's head ; metal covering leading to a vent that exhausts smoke or fumes ; the folding roof of a carriage ; a headdress that protects the head and face ; protective covering consisting of a metal part that covers the engine; (zoology) an expandable part or marking that resembles a hood on the head or neck of an animal
- hoodluman aggressive and violent young criminal
- goonan awkward stupid person ; an aggressive and violent young criminal
- punkof very poor quality; an aggressive and violent young criminal ; substance that smolders when ignited; material for starting a fire ; a teenager or young adult who is a performer (or enthusiast) of punk rock and a member of the punk youth subculture ; rock music with deliberately offensive lyrics expressing anger and social alienation
- thugan aggressive and violent young criminal
- toughiean aggressive and violent young criminal ; a particularly difficult or baffling question or problem
- strong-armeran aggressive and violent young criminal
tough as in a cruel and brutal fellow
Synonyms
- bullyvery good; be bossy towards; discourage or frighten with threats or a domineering manner; a cruel and brutal fellow ; a hired thug
- hooligana cruel and brutal fellow
- ruffiana cruel and brutal fellow
- roughnecka cruel and brutal fellow
- rowdydisturbing the public peace; a cruel and brutal fellow
- yoba cruel and brutal fellow
- yoboa cruel and brutal fellow
- yobboa cruel and brutal fellow
tough as in not given to gentleness or sentimentality
- "a tough character"
tough as in very difficult
- "severely testing stamina or resolution"
- "a rugged competitive examination"
- "the rugged conditions of frontier life"
- "the competition was tough"
- "it's a tough life"
- "it was a tough job"
Synonyms
- ruggedsturdy and strong in constitution or construction; having long narrow shallow depressions (as grooves or wrinkles) in the surface; topographically very uneven; very difficult
tough as in physically toughened
- "the tough bottoms of his feet"
Synonyms
- toughenedphysically toughened; made hard or flexible or resilient especially by heat treatment
tough as in substantially made or constructed
- "sturdy steel shelves"
- "sturdy canvas"
- "a tough all-weather fabric"
- "some plastics are as tough as metal"
Synonyms
- sturdyhaving rugged physical strength; not making concessions; substantially made or constructed
tough as in violent and lawless
- "the more ruffianly element"
- "tough street gangs"
Synonyms
- ruffianlyviolent and lawless
tough as in feeling physical discomfort or pain (`tough' is occasionally used colloquially for `bad')
- "my throat feels bad"
- "she felt bad all over"
- "he was feeling tough after a restless night"
Synonyms
- badthat which is below standard or expectations as of ethics or decency; with great intensity (`bad' is a nonstandard variant for `badly'); very much; having undesirable or negative qualities; very intense; feeling physical discomfort or pain (`tough' is occasionally used colloquially for `bad'); (of foodstuffs) not in an edible or usable condition; feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone; not capable of being collected; below average in quality or performance; nonstandard; not financially safe or secure; physically unsound or diseased; capable of harming; characterized by wickedness or immorality; reproduced fraudulently; not working properly
tough as in resistant to cutting or chewing
tough as in unfortunate or hard to bear
- "had hard luck"
- "a tough break"
Synonyms
- hardwith effort or force or vigor; with firmness; earnestly or intently; causing great damage or hardship; slowly and with difficulty; indulging excessively; into a solid condition; very near or close in space or time; with pain or distress or bitterness; to the full extent possible; not easy; dispassionate; resisting weight or pressure ; very strong or vigorous; characterized by effort to the point of exhaustion; produced without vibration of the vocal cords; (of light) transmitted directly from a pointed light source ; (of speech sounds); given to excessive indulgence of bodily appetites especially for intoxicating liquors; being distilled rather than fermented; unfortunate or hard to bear; dried out
tough as in making great mental demands
- "hard to comprehend or solve or believe"
- "a baffling problem"
- "I faced the knotty problem of what to have for breakfast"
- "a problematic situation at home"
Synonyms
- bafflingmaking great mental demands
- elusivedifficult to describe; skillful at eluding capture; difficult to detect or grasp by the mind or analyze; making great mental demands
- knottymaking great mental demands; used of old persons or old trees; highly complex or intricate and occasionally devious; tangled in knots or snarls
- problematicopen to doubt or debate; making great mental demands
- problematicalopen to doubt or debate; making great mental demands