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hard

adjective · noun

Simple meaning

Solid and firm.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

hahrd
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈhɑɹd

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. of material or fluid

    Solid and firm.

  2. Resistant to pressure; difficult to break, cut, or penetrate.

  3. of drink or drugs

    Strong.

  4. Resisting weight or pressure

  5. of a normally nonalcoholic drink

    Containing alcohol.

  6. Difficult or requiring a lot of effort to do, understand, experience, or deal with.

noun

  1. uncountableslang

    Hard labor.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
A1 · Beginner
Frequency
Very Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: (of drink or drugs) Strong.

Used this way, hard is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

hard diskhard laborhard labourworked hard

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • hardnessnounDerived noun

    The property of being rigid and resistant to pressure.

  • hardinessnounDerived noun

    The property of being strong and healthy in constitution.

  • hardlyadverbDerived adverb

    Only a very short time before.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • hard leadnounCompound term

    A lead alloy that contains about 5% antimony.

  • hard linenounCompound term

    A firm and uncompromising stance or position.

  • hard liquornounCompound term

    An alcoholic beverage that is distilled rather than fermented.

  • hard newsnounCompound term

    News that deals with serious topics or events.

  • hard-onnounCompound term

    An erect penis.

  • hard palatenounCompound term

    The bony part of the roof of the mouth.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

  • hardenedadjectiveRelated term

    Made hard or flexible or resilient especially by heat treatment.

  • hardenverbRelated term

    Become hard or harder.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Antonyms

Sense: solid and firm

soft

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.