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. (of a material) 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. (of a person or animal) Rugged or physically hardy.

   Only a tough species will survive in the desert.

   • 2010, Brian Lovett, Hunting Tough Turkeys, Stackpole Books, page 3:

     But before you quit turkey hunting and take up model-train collecting, let me give you the good news: you can score on tough turkeys. In fact, you can kill the toughest turkey in the woods.

4. (of a person) Stubborn or persistent; capable of stubbornness or persistence.

   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.

   • 1998, Lois Liederman Davitz, Joel Robert Davitz, 20 Tough Questions Teenagers Ask and 20 Tough Answers, Paulist Press, pages 6-7,

     But let's get back to the tough question about sex before marriage. And this is a tough question. In fact we would rank the question you've both raised as pretty high on our list of tough questions.

   • 2012, BioWare, Mass Effect 3 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Earth:

     Anderson: We fought hard to get here. But now the toughest part of our mission begins.
     Anderson: We've got to drive right through the heart of Reaper-controlled territory, break past their defenses, and get to that beacon.

   • 2010, Rushworth M. Kidder, Good Kids, Tough Choices, Wiley (Jossey-Bass), page 96,

     What Lara faced, in fact, falls right into the pool of light beneath our second lens: making tough choices.

8. (material science) Undergoing plastic deformation before breaking.
9. Strict, not lenient.

   tough on crime

Derived terms

Terms derived from tough (adjective)

• do it tough
• hang tough
• semitough
• supertough
• tough act to follow
• tough as nails
• tough as old boots
• tough as teak
• tough bananas
• tough break
• tough-cake
• tough call
• tough case
• tough cookie
• tough cookies
• tough crowd
• toughen
• tough going
• tough-guy
• tough guy
• tough-guyness
• toughie
• toughish
• tough love
• tough-love
• tough luck
• toughly
• tough-minded
• toughness
• tough nut
• tough nut to crack
• tough on crime
• tough pill to swallow
• tough-pitch
• tough road to hoe
• tough row to hoe
• tough sell
• tough shit
• tough-skinned
• tough sledding
• tough tacos
• tough tarts
• tough times
• tough titties
• tough titty
• tough titty said the kitty
• tough toodles
• tough tooshie
• tough tuchus
• tough tushie
• 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
• Bulgarian: жилав (bg) (žilav), корав (bg) (korav)
• 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) (sklirós)
• Hungarian: rágós (hu)
• Irish: righin
• Italian: duro (it), coriaceo (it)
• Khmer: រឹង (km) (rɨng), ស្វិត (km) (svət)
• Maori: kākatikati, pūioio, kākoa
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Pashto: کلک (klak)
• Persian: سفت (fa) (seft), چغر (fa) (čeğer)
• Plautdietsch: toag
• Polish: twardy (pl)
• Portuguese: duro (pt)
• Russian: жёсткий (ru) (žóstkij)
• Scottish Gaelic: righinn
• Swedish: seg (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: sert (tr)
• Vietnamese: khó nhai, dai (vi)

rugged or physically hardy

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Basque: gogor
• Bulgarian: устойчив (bg) (ustojčiv)
• 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) (sklirós), τραχύς (el) (trachýs)
• Hindi: सख़्त (saxt), सख्त (hi) (sakht)
• Italian: duro (it), resistente (it)
• Japanese: please add this translation if you can
• Khmer: មាំ (km) (mŏəm)
• 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), rudo (es)
• Swedish: tålig (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: dẻo dai (vi), mạnh mẽ (vi)

stubborn — see stubborn

harsh or severe

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: труден (bg) (truden)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 艱苦／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 (ja) (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), rudo (es)
• Swedish: svår (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: khắc nghiệt (vi)

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) (sklirós)
• Khmer: កំណាច (km) (kɑmnaac)
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Portuguese: durão
• Spanish: rudo (es)
• Swedish: tuff (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: du côn (vi)

difficult or demanding

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Bulgarian: труден (bg) (truden)
• 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: ពិបាក (km) (pibaak)
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Pashto: ګران (grân)
• Portuguese: difícil (pt)
• Spanish: de mano dura
• Swedish: tuff (sv), svår (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Vietnamese: khó (vi), ngoan cố (vi)

material science: undergoing plastic deformation before breaking

• Finnish: sitkeä (fi)
• Georgian: მტკიცე (mṭḳice)
• German: zäh (de)
• Russian: про́чный (ru) (próčnyj)
• Swedish: seg (sv)
• Vietnamese: dẻo (vi), bền (vi)

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, Pech gehabt
• Spanish: ni modo
• Swedish: trist för dig

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. 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, pages 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,tough it out

Translations

endure — see endure

toughen — see toughen

Anagrams

• ought

German

Etymology

Borrowed from English tough; see also German taff.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /taf/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

tough (strong nominative masculine singular tougher, comparative tougher, superlative am toughsten or am toughesten)

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

Declension

Positive forms of tough

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

Further reading

• “tough” in Duden online
• “tough” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Middle English

Noun

tough

1. Alternative form of tow