tough

Meaning

Adj

1. Strong and resilient; sturdy.
2. Difficult to cut or chew.
3. Rugged or physically hardy.
4. Stubborn or persistent; capable of stubbornness or persistence.
5. (usually) Harsh or severe.
6. Rowdy or rough.
7. (usually) Difficult or demanding.
8. (material) Undergoing plastic deformation before breaking.
9. Strict, not lenient.

Intj

Used to indicate lack of sympathy

Noun

A person who obtains things by force; a thug or bully.

Verb

1. To endure.
2. To toughen.

Synonyms

hard

strong

difficult

firm

rough

stiff

sturdy

harsh

tenacious

solid

robust

hardy

bad

👎

rugged

arduous

severe

powerful

heavy

unyielding

durable

stubborn

vigorous

thick

strict

stern

stallwart

ruffian

not tender

potent

old

🧓

mighty

forceful

bitter

challenging

rowdy

wiry

rigid

roughneck

painful

resistant

inconvenient

awkward

intractable

austere

hopeless

sharp

coarse

hoodlum

burly

formidable

Translations

dur

difficile

zwaar

duro

fuerte

zäh

schwer

duro

σκληρός

hart

straf

puissant

fort

kräftig

robuste

Pronounced as (IPA)

/tʌf/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: tough

Inherited from Old English: tōh

Cognate with Scots: teuch

Cognate with Dutch: taai

Cognate with Low German: tage

Cognate with German: zäh

In summary

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 Proto-Indo-European *denḱ- (“to bite”).
Cognates
Cognate with Saterland Frisian toai (“tough, strong”), Bavarian zaach, zach (“tough, tenacious, dogged”), Dutch taai (“tough, resilient”), German zäh, zähe (“tough, tenacious, dogged”), Luxembourgish zéi (“tough, rugged, hardy”).