Hypertext Webster Gateway: "tough"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Tough \Tough\, a. [Compar. {Tougher}; superl. {Toughest}.] [OE.
tough, AS. t[=o]h, akin to D. taai, LG. taa, tage, tau, OHG.
z[=a]hi, G. z[aum]he, and also to AS. getenge near to, close
to, oppressive, OS. bitengi.]
1. Having the quality of flexibility without brittleness;
yielding to force without breaking; capable of resisting
great strain; as, the ligaments of animals are remarkably
tough. ``Tough roots and stubs. '' --Milton.
2. Not easily broken; able to endure hardship; firm; strong;
as, tough sinews. --Cowper.
A body made of brass, the crone demands, . . . Tough
to the last, and with no toil to tire. --Dryden.
The basis of his character was caution combined with
tough tenacity of purpose. --J. A.
Symonds.
3. Not easily separated; viscous; clammy; tenacious; as,
tough phlegm.
4. Stiff; rigid; not flexible; stubborn; as, a tough bow.
So tough a frame she could not bend. --Dryden.
5. Severe; violent; as, a tough storm. [Colloq.] `` A tough
debate. '' --Fuller.
{To make it tough}, to make it a matter of difficulty; to
make it a hard matter. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
tough
adj 1: not given to gentleness or sentimentality; "a tough
character" [ant: {tender}]
2: 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" [syn: {rugged}]
3: physically toughened; "the tough bottoms of his feet" [syn:
{toughened}] [ant: {tender}]
4: substantially made or constructed; "sturdy steel shelves";
"sturdy canvas"; "a tough all-weather fabric"; "some
plastics are as tough as metal" [syn: {sturdy}]
5: violent and lawless; "the more ruffianly element"; "tough
street gangs" [syn: {ruffianly}]
6: feeling physical discomfort or pain; "my throat feels bad";
"she felt bad all over"; ('tough' is occasionally used
colloquially for `bad' as in "he was feeling tough after a
restless night") [syn: {bad}]
7: tough to cut or chew [ant: {tender}]
8: unfortunate or hard to bear; "had hard luck"; "a tough
break" [syn: {hard}]
n 1: someone who learned to fight in the streets rather than
being formally trained in the sport of boxing [syn: {street
fighter}]
2: an aggressive and violent young criminal [syn: {hood}, {hoodlum},
{goon}, {punk}, {thug}, {toughie}, {strong-armer}]
3: a cruel and brutal fellow [syn: {bully}, {hooligan}, {ruffian},
{roughneck}, {rowdy}, {yob}, {yobo}, {yobbo}]
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