tough

English

Etymology

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 Scots teuch (“tough”), tūch (“tough”), Dutch taai (“tough”), Low German tage, taag, taë, taa (“tough”), German zäh (“tough”), dialectal German zach (“tough; boring”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: tŭf, IPA^(key): /tʌf/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌf
• Homophone: tuff

Adjective

tough (comparative tougher, superlative toughest)

1. Strong and resilient; sturdy.

   The tent, made of tough canvas, held up to many abuses.

2. (of food) Difficult to cut or chew.

   To soften a tough cut of meat, the recipe suggested simmering it for hours.

3. Rugged or physically hardy.

   Only a tough species will survive in the desert.

4. Stubborn.

   He had a reputation as a tough negotiator.

5. (of weather etc) Harsh or severe.
6. Rowdy or rough.

   A bunch of the tough boys from the wrong side of the tracks threatened him.

7. (of questions, etc.) Difficult or demanding.

   This is a tough crowd.

8. (material science) Undergoing plastic deformation before breaking.

Derived terms

Terms derived from tough (adjective)

• do it tough
• hang tough
• semitough
• supertough
• tough call
• tough case
• tough cookie
• tough crowd
• toughen
• tough guy
• toughie
• toughish
• tough love
• tough luck
• toughly
• tough-minded
• toughness
• tough nut to crack
• tough row to hoe
• tough shit
• tough titty
• tough toodles
• tough tuchus
• toughy
• ultratough
• when the going gets tough, the tough get going

 

Translations

resilient — see resilient

difficult to chew

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Dutch: taai (nl)
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: sitkeä (fi)
• Galician: duro (gl)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: zäh (de)
• Greek: σκληρός (el) m (sklirós)
• Hungarian: rágós (hu)
• Irish: righin
• Italian: duro (it), coriaceo (it)

• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Maori: kākatikati, pūioio, kākoa
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Pashto: کلک‎ (klak)
• Persian: سفت‎ (fa) (seft), چغر‎ (fa) (čeqer)
• Plautdietsch: toag
• Portuguese: duro (pt)
• Russian: жёсткий (ru) (žóstkij)
• Scottish Gaelic: righinn
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: sert (tr)
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

rugged or physically hardy

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Basque: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: sitkeä (fi)
• Friulian: dûr
• Georgian: გამძლე (gamʒle)
• German: widerstandsfähig (de)
• Greek: σκληρός (el) m (sklirós), τραχύς (el) m (trachýs)
• Hindi: सख़्त (saxt), सख्त (hi) (sakht)
• Italian: duro (it), resistente (it)

• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Maori: pūioio
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Pashto: کلک‎ (klak), سخت‎ (ps) (saxt)
• Plautdietsch: toag
• Polish: wytrzymały (pl), odporny (pl)
• Portuguese: resistente (pt)
• Scottish Gaelic: fulangach, tapaidh
• Spanish: resistente (es)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

stubborn — see stubborn

harsh or severe

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 艱苦 (zh), 艰苦 (zh) (jiānkǔ)

• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: ankara (fi)
• Galician: duro (gl)
• Georgian: მკაცრი (mḳacri)
• Japanese: 辛い (ja) (つらい, tsurai), たいへん (ja) (taihen), きつい (kitsui)

• Khmer: ប្រិត (km) (prət)
• Maori: taikaha
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Portuguese: severo (pt)
• Russian: тяжёлый (ru) (tjažólyj), тру́дный (ru) (trúdnyj), тя́жкий (ru) (tjážkij)
• Spanish: severo (es)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

rowdy or rough

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Basque: please add this translation if you can
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: kova (fi)
• Georgian: უხეში (uxeši), ხულიგანი (xuligani)
• Greek: σκληρός (el) m (sklirós)

• Khmer: please add this translation if you can
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Portuguese: durão
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

difficult or demanding

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: hankala (fi), vaativa (fi)
• French: dur (fr)
• Galician: difícil (gl)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: knifflig (de), schwierig (de)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can

• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Pashto: ګران‎ (grân)
• Portuguese: difícil (pt)
• Spanish: de mano dura c
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: khó (vi) (kʰɔ˦˥)

material science: undergoing plastic deformation before breaking

• Finnish: sitkeä (fi)
• Georgian: მტკიცე (mṭḳice)

• German: zäh (de)
• Russian: про́чный (ru) (próčnyj)

Interjection

tough

1. (slang) Used to indicate lack of sympathy

   If you don't like it, tough!

Translations

lack of sympathy

• Dutch: jammer (nl)
• Finnish: harmi (fi)
• German: Pech (de) n

• Spanish: ni modo

Noun

tough (plural toughs)

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

   They were doing fine until they encountered a bunch of toughs from the opposition.

   • 2018, Sandeep Jauhar, Heart: a History, →ISBN, page 54:

     He was in his early fifties, extensively tattooed, just the sort of tough I wouldn't want to meet alone in a parking lot at night, but right then he was whimpering.

Translations

one who obtains things by force

• Greek: σκληρός (el) m (sklirós)
• Portuguese: valentão (pt) m

• Yiddish: שטאַרקער‎ m (shtarker)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} taai (nl), ^{(please verify)} hard (nl), ^{(please verify)} sterk (nl), ^{(please verify)} robuust (nl)
• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} גְּבַרְתָּן‎ (he) m (gvartan)

• Italian: ^{(please verify)} bullo (it) m, ^{(please verify)} duro (it) m
• Lingala: ^{(please verify)} makási, ^{(please verify)} pási

Verb

tough (third-person singular simple present toughs, present participle toughing, simple past and past participle toughed)

1. To endure.
   • 2009, Paul Walsh, You and I and Others, →ISBN, page 64 - 65:

     We shall reminisce on how we toughed it through the winters as they reached the firm, long arm around to give the cold embrace, with ardor seldom loosed till warm winds Marched or Apriled in to soften winter's knuckles -- send rivulets of courage down to dandelions and tulips.

   • 2011, Henry David Thoreau, Damion Searls, The Journal of Henry David Thoreau, 1837-1861, →ISBN, page 254:

     “No,” said Minott, “I've toughed it through the winter, and i want to stay and hear the bluebirds once more.

   • 2012, Jerry Hopkins -, Extreme Cuisine: The Weird and Wonderful Foods That People Eat, →ISBN:

     Universal Plant Edibility Test The following sounds like a lot of work—it is!—but that's because it comes from the US Army Survival Manual as republished in 1994 as "a civilian's best guide for toughing it, anyplace in the world...a must for campers, hikers, explorers, pilots, and others whose vocation or avocations require familiarity with the wilderness or out-of-doors..."

2. To toughen.

Derived terms

• tough out

Translations

endure — see endure

toughen — see toughen

Anagrams

• ought

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German

Etymology

From English tough; see also German taff.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /taf/

Adjective

tough (comparative tougher, superlative am toughsten or am toughesten)

1. (slang) Alternative form of taff (“tough; robust; assertive and not overly sensitive”)

Declension

declension with am toughsten

Positive forms of tough

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter	all genders
predicative		er ist tough	sie ist tough	es ist tough	sie sind tough
strong declension (without article)	nominative	tougher	toughe	toughes	toughe
	genitive	toughen	tougher	toughen	tougher
	dative	toughem	tougher	toughem	toughen
	accusative	toughen	toughe	toughes	toughe
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der toughe	die toughe	das toughe	die toughen
	genitive	des toughen	der toughen	des toughen	der toughen
	dative	dem toughen	der toughen	dem toughen	den toughen
	accusative	den toughen	die toughe	das toughe	die toughen
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein tougher	eine toughe	ein toughes	(keine) toughen
	genitive	eines toughen	einer toughen	eines toughen	(keiner) toughen
	dative	einem toughen	einer toughen	einem toughen	(keinen) toughen
	accusative	einen toughen	eine toughe	ein toughes	(keine) toughen

Comparative forms of tough

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter	all genders
predicative		er ist tougher	sie ist tougher	es ist tougher	sie sind tougher
strong declension (without article)	nominative	tougherer	toughere	tougheres	toughere
	genitive	tougheren	tougherer	tougheren	tougherer
	dative	tougherem	tougherer	tougherem	tougheren
	accusative	tougheren	toughere	tougheres	toughere
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der toughere	die toughere	das toughere	die tougheren
	genitive	des tougheren	der tougheren	des tougheren	der tougheren
	dative	dem tougheren	der tougheren	dem tougheren	den tougheren
	accusative	den tougheren	die toughere	das toughere	die tougheren
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein tougherer	eine toughere	ein tougheres	(keine) tougheren
	genitive	eines tougheren	einer tougheren	eines tougheren	(keiner) tougheren
	dative	einem tougheren	einer tougheren	einem tougheren	(keinen) tougheren
	accusative	einen tougheren	eine toughere	ein tougheres	(keine) tougheren

Superlative forms of tough

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter	all genders
predicative		er ist am toughsten	sie ist am toughsten	es ist am toughsten	sie sind am toughsten
strong declension (without article)	nominative	toughster	toughste	toughstes	toughste
	genitive	toughsten	toughster	toughsten	toughster
	dative	toughstem	toughster	toughstem	toughsten
	accusative	toughsten	toughste	toughstes	toughste
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der toughste	die toughste	das toughste	die toughsten
	genitive	des toughsten	der toughsten	des toughsten	der toughsten
	dative	dem toughsten	der toughsten	dem toughsten	den toughsten
	accusative	den toughsten	die toughste	das toughste	die toughsten
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein toughster	eine toughste	ein toughstes	(keine) toughsten
	genitive	eines toughsten	einer toughsten	eines toughsten	(keiner) toughsten
	dative	einem toughsten	einer toughsten	einem toughsten	(keinen) toughsten
	accusative	einen toughsten	eine toughste	ein toughstes	(keine) toughsten

declension with am toughesten

Positive forms of tough

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter	all genders
predicative		er ist tough	sie ist tough	es ist tough	sie sind tough
strong declension (without article)	nominative	tougher	toughe	toughes	toughe
	genitive	toughen	tougher	toughen	tougher
	dative	toughem	tougher	toughem	toughen
	accusative	toughen	toughe	toughes	toughe
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der toughe	die toughe	das toughe	die toughen
	genitive	des toughen	der toughen	des toughen	der toughen
	dative	dem toughen	der toughen	dem toughen	den toughen
	accusative	den toughen	die toughe	das toughe	die toughen
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein tougher	eine toughe	ein toughes	(keine) toughen
	genitive	eines toughen	einer toughen	eines toughen	(keiner) toughen
	dative	einem toughen	einer toughen	einem toughen	(keinen) toughen
	accusative	einen toughen	eine toughe	ein toughes	(keine) toughen

Comparative forms of tough

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter	all genders
predicative		er ist tougher	sie ist tougher	es ist tougher	sie sind tougher
strong declension (without article)	nominative	tougherer	toughere	tougheres	toughere
	genitive	tougheren	tougherer	tougheren	tougherer
	dative	tougherem	tougherer	tougherem	tougheren
	accusative	tougheren	toughere	tougheres	toughere
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der toughere	die toughere	das toughere	die tougheren
	genitive	des tougheren	der tougheren	des tougheren	der tougheren
	dative	dem tougheren	der tougheren	dem tougheren	den tougheren
	accusative	den tougheren	die toughere	das toughere	die tougheren
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein tougherer	eine toughere	ein tougheres	(keine) tougheren
	genitive	eines tougheren	einer tougheren	eines tougheren	(keiner) tougheren
	dative	einem tougheren	einer tougheren	einem tougheren	(keinen) tougheren
	accusative	einen tougheren	eine toughere	ein tougheres	(keine) tougheren

Superlative forms of tough

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter	all genders
predicative		er ist am toughesten	sie ist am toughesten	es ist am toughesten	sie sind am toughesten
strong declension (without article)	nominative	toughester	tougheste	toughestes	tougheste
	genitive	toughesten	toughester	toughesten	toughester
	dative	toughestem	toughester	toughestem	toughesten
	accusative	toughesten	tougheste	toughestes	tougheste
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der tougheste	die tougheste	das tougheste	die toughesten
	genitive	des toughesten	der toughesten	des toughesten	der toughesten
	dative	dem toughesten	der toughesten	dem toughesten	den toughesten
	accusative	den toughesten	die tougheste	das tougheste	die toughesten
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein toughester	eine tougheste	ein toughestes	(keine) toughesten
	genitive	eines toughesten	einer toughesten	eines toughesten	(keiner) toughesten
	dative	einem toughesten	einer toughesten	einem toughesten	(keinen) toughesten
	accusative	einen toughesten	eine tougheste	ein toughestes	(keine) toughesten

Further reading

• “tough” in Duden online

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Middle English

Noun

tough

1. Alternative form of tow