Hard

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /hɑːd/

Definitions

1. Requiring significant effort, strength, or endurance to accomplish or withstand
2. Needing a lot of effort or skill to complete successfully ; having a surface or substance that is firm and resistant to pressure ; showing strictness or severity in conduct or regulations
3. Demanding considerable exertion or ability to manage ; characterized by firmness or solidity to the touch ; enforcing rules or behavior in a tough or uncompromising manner

Etymology: The sense "difficult" is the older one in some ways: the Proto-Indo-European root behind "hard" is reconstructed as *kret-, meaning "strong, powerful," and its cognates in Greek (kratys, "strong, mighty") and Sanskrit (kratu, "power, might") keep that sense of force. Hardness was originally a matter of strength and resistance, and the physical sense of "not yielding to pressure" grew naturally out of that idea of might. The word came into English from Old English "heard," which was already the ordinary word for solid, unyielding things. Across the Germanic languages it stayed remarkably stable: German "hart," Dutch "hard," Swedish "hård," and Icelandic "harður" all preserve it with the same core meaning, so the word has been spoken in roughly this form for well over a thousand years.

Synonyms: difficult, challenging, tough, arduous, strenuous

Antonyms: easy, simple, soft