From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhardhard1 /hɑːd $ hɑːrd/●くろまる●くろまる●くろまるS1W1 adjective (comparative harder, superlative hardest)1firm to touchHARDfirm, stiff, and difficult to press down, break, or cutOPP softa hard wooden chairthe hardest substance known to manAfter months without rain, the ground was too hard to plough.2difficultDIFFICULT difficult to do or understandSYN difficultOPP easyThis year’s exam was much harder than last year’s.You’ll have to make some hard decisions.They’re a hard team to beat.it is hard to believe/imagine/see/know etcIt was hard to see what else we could have done.It’s hard to believe that anyone would say something like that.find it hard to do somethingI was finding it hard to concentrate.Permanent jobs are hard to come by (=difficult to find or get).be hard for somebodyIt must be hard for her, bringing up three kids on her own.Telling my parents is going to be the hardest thing about it.have a hard time doing something (=be difficult for someone to do something)You’ll have a hard time proving that.I had a hard time persuading him to accept the offer.Such criticism was hard to take (=difficult to accept).► see thesaurus at difficult3TIREDwork/effort [usually before noun] using or involving a lot of mental or physical effortTo be successful in sport requires hard work and a great deal of determination.After a hard day at work, I just want to come home and put my feet up.a hard day’s work/walking/skiing etcThere’s a sauna where you can relax after a hard day’s skiing.Becoming a doctor never interested him. It was too much like hard work (=it would involve too much work).► see thesaurus at tiring4full of problemsPOORPROBLEM a situation or time that is hard is one in which you have a lot of problems, especially when you do not have enough moneyShe’s had a hard life.Times were hard and they were forced to sell their house.He had clearly fallen on hard times (=did not have much money).5 →be hard on somebody6 →be hard on something7 →do something the hard way8using forceSTRONG PERSON using a lot of forceJane gave the door a good hard push.She gave him a hard slap.9 →hard evidence/facts/information etc10unkindUNKINDCRUEL showing no sympathetic or gentlefeelingsa hard faceHer voice was hard and cold.You’re a hard man, John.11 →hard going12 →make hard work of something13 →be hard at it/work14water hard water contains a lot of minerals, and does not mix easily with soapOPP soft15 →hard luck16 →give somebody a hard time17 →have a hard time18 →drive/strike a hard bargain19 →hard feelings20 →take a (long) hard look at something/somebody21 →hard line22 →hard news23STRONG PERSONnot frightened British English spoken strong, ready to fight, and not afraid of anyone or anythingHe thinks he’s really hard.Jones was known as soccer’s hard man.24 →(as) hard as nails25 →a hard taskmaster/master26 →a hard winter/frost27 →the hard left/right28light especially literary hard light is bright and unpleasantSYN harshthe hard brilliance of the moonlight29MDDDRINKDRUGalcohol [only before noun] informal very stronghard liquorI never touch the hard stuff (=strong alcohol). →hard drugs30 →a hard left/right31SLpronunciation a hard ‘c’ is pronounced /k/ rather than /s/; a hard ‘g’ is pronounced /g/ rather than /dz/ → soft —hardness noun [uncountable]a material that would combine the flexibility of rubber with the hardness of glassTHESAURUShard difficult to press down, break, or cut, and not at all softI fell onto the hard stone floor.The clay gets harder as it dries.firm not completely hard, but not easy to press or bend – used especially when this seems a good thingI like to sleep on a firm mattress.exercises to make your stomach muscles nice and firmThe pears were firm and juicy.stiff difficult to bend and not changing shapea piece of stiff cardboardThe collar of his shirt felt stiff and uncomfortable.solid made of a thick hard material and not hollowa solid oak doorThe floor felt strong and solid beneath her feet.rigid /ˈrɪdʒəd/ having a structure that is made of a material that is difficult or impossible to bendThe tent is supported by a rigid frame.Carry sandwiches in a rigid container.crisp/crispy used about food that is pleasantly hard, so that it makes a noise when you bite it – often used about things that have been cooked in thin slices until they are brownBake the cookies until they are crisp and golden.crispy baconcrunchy food that is crunchy makes a noise when you bite on it – often used about things that are fresh, for example fruit, vegetables, and nutsa crunchy breakfast cereal The carrots were still nice and crunchy.a crunchy saladcrunchy peanut buttertoughmeat that is tough is too hard and is difficult to cut or eatThe meat was tough and flavourless. rubbery too hard and bending like rubber rather than breaking – used especially about meatThe chicken was all rubbery.COLLOCATIONS CHECKfirm bed/muscles/fruit/vegetables/groundstiff card/cardboard/collar/material/fingers/bodysolid wood/steel/concrete/floor/wallrigid frame/structurecrisp/crispy apple/bacon/toast/potato/lettucecrunchy cereal/vegetables/nuts/snacktough meatrubbery meatExamples from the Corpushard• I thought the exam was really hard.• Keep the cake in a tin, to prevent it from going hard.• I've cooked the potatoes for half an hour but they still seem a bit hard.• As people age, their skin becomes harder and less supple.• I wish this chair wasn't so hard and uncomfortable.• A tiled floor in the kitchen is as hard as stone, and very cold beneath your feet.• a piece of hardcandy• Some hardcheeses are permitted to age.• Chemistry was one of the hardest classes I've ever taken.• Let your mother sit down. She's had a hard day at work.• A harddisk is usually built into the computer and is a slightly different form of storage.• It was hard for me to understand her - her accent was very strong.• Toiletroll, used, in small smelly brown-streaked sheets - both the hard kind and the soft kind.• But the Clinton administration is still taking a hard line.• He's a hard man to work for, but he's fair.• a hardmattress• Give the door a hardpush.• Diamond is probably the hardestsubstance known to man.• It's not my fault, John. Don't give me a hard time.• It's hard to see the stage from here.• The slickestfeature of all is the fully poweroperated hard top.• It was a long hard walk back to the nearest town.• Instead it meant hard work with a capitalH for all the fifteen or so staff.• Mowing the lawn is hard work.• Yes, exhibitions are hard work!hard to take• We lost the game in the last few seconds; that was really hard to take.• This was just as well, because as a native he would have been a bit hard to take.• When she starts talking about how smart her kids are, it's a little hard to take.• So much dislike, when she loved him so much - it was hard to take.• That got a bit hard to take.• The death or incapacitating illness of a loved one is always hard to take.• The picture of Communistbosses turning into richcapitalists is hard to take.• The losses were hard to take, but the gains were great also.• Find it hard to takecompliments?• Life was marching up such a strange road that it was sometimes hard to take it all in.too much like hard work• It was all too much like hard work.fallen on hard times• At 21 she is set for stardom, but she still finds time for people who have fallen on hard times.• Interestingly, though, the bottom 10 includes many household names fallen on hard times.• Was old Bones the equineequivalent of Manchester United then, fallen on hard times?• Worse, because of Jack the father has fallen on hard times and must meet all kinds of debts.• Now these in their turn have fallen on hard times at a time of agricultural rather than industrialrecession.• The Cambridge UniversityAutomobileClub had clearly fallen on hard times, too.good hard• He had built a big new house in the valley, beside the best clay for making good hardbricks.• There are a number of good hard disk manufacturers around.hard man• But Cooper is more than a hard man.• They gave me a bad time - they'd all been in since they were seventeen and they were hard men.• It was all pleasantly noisy without any air of aggression, there were no yobs or self-styledhard men among the customers.• Wimbledon's hard man ran across the pitch to point threateningly at Middlesbrough assistantmanager John Pickering.• He had to be diplomat, psychologist, hard man, soft man, entrepreneur, spiritualleader, general and peacekeeper.• Secondly, the bandlaunched heavy metalhard man Ted Nugent, one of rock's more notablecharacters.• He's the hardest man to get out, that's for sure.• Dan Liszka is a hard man to track down.the hard stuff• It's all right if I drink a beer, but the doctor said to stay away from the hard stuff.• I have come to believe that the soft occult more often than not leads to the hard stuff.• That's what my father used to say whenever he took a glass of the hard stuff.• There were about a dozen writers in hospitality, most of them busyknocking back the hard stuff.• I'd ease up on the hard stuff if I were you.• The problem is that rock-climbers do all the hardest stuff in this game.• Harold thinks it would help him relax in the evening and not hit the hard stuff so hard.