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词汇 hard
释义

Definition of hard in English:

hard

adjective hɑːdhɑrd

  • 1Solid, firm, and rigid; not easily broken, bent, or pierced.

    坚实的；牢固的；坚硬的

    the slate broke on the hard floor
    rub the varnish down when it's hard

    等清漆硬了以后把它磨平。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • The pathways break down when it loses the natural, hard compact soil which keeps the path together.
    • The cold weather had made the ground solid and too hard for the dirt to trap footprints.
    • She sat down to the hard floor of the tunnel and sat there, thinking about what to do.
    • The easiest way to crack it is to wrap it in a grocery bag and drop it on a hard floor.
    • He takes a step before his eyes suddenly roll back in his head and he collapses on the hard floor.
    • The floor is hard, but cool and somehow the food tastes better and the conversation is lighter.
    • When Anna awoke, she found herself back in a side room of the main lab on a rather hard bed.
    • Now he lay on the hard mattress of a cheap hotel, staring at the empty space next to him.
    • We finally dumped our bags on the floor and collapsed on the rock hard beds in silence.
    • Make sure there are no sharp corners or hard edges where she could hurt herself.
    • Her body lay flat against the hard mattress she had been lying in for little over a week.
    • Outside the night was cool and fresh, but the ground was hard and still the rains had not come.
    • Home for them was a cold, damp shed, with a hard concrete floor with little or no bedding.
    • Some skaters prefer this for the tiny increase in control you get with very hard carbon fibre skate boots.
    • I lay on my back on the hard floor, moving my bag up underneath my head for a bit of comfort.
    • At the time, I was on my feet all day at work on a very cold, hard concrete floor.
    • This method can produce a wide range of products, from oily coatings to hard coatings and powders.
    • The volunteers used to sleep a dozen to a room on thin pallets laid out on the hard floor of their offices.
    • Boots thudded on the hard floor as the man wearing them looked into each of the cells.
    • Breathing became difficult, her muscles shook, and she toppled to her knees on the hard floor.
    • Don't worry about the pears being a bit hard - they'll ripen in seconds on the grill.
    • Having made his decision, Brett turned over on the uncomfortable, hard floor, satisfied.
    • Wes awoke with a start when he felt something hard whack him in the stomach.
    • After all, it takes a certain commitment to pay high prices for a hard seat in a draughty theatre.
    • He handed it to Vicky who found it unexpectedly light, it looked so ornate and delicate but felt solid and hard.
    • I lay splayed out, face down on the hard floor for a minute or two, paralysed by embarrassment and surprise.
    • My youngest daughter fell out of her high chair on to a hard floor.
    • Some may insist you sleep on mats on hard floors to straighten out the spine, but they are in a minority.
    Synonyms
    firm, solid, dense, rigid, stiff, resistant, unbreakable, inflexible, unpliable, impenetrable, unyielding, solidified, hardened, compact, compacted, steely, tough, strong, stony, rock-like, flinty, close-packed, compressed, as hard as iron, as hard as stone
    frozen
    rare adamantine, unmalleable, renitent
    1. 1.1 (of a person) not showing any signs of weakness; tough.
      （人）坚强的；能力强的；能应付困境的
      only a handful are hard enough to join the SAS

      只有屈指可数的几个够坚强的人可以加入英国特种航空队。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • He's a hard man, unafraid of any opposition, and he gets other people working well and riled up.
      • You want to know what his hard men who had done well out of Napoleon and the Bourbon Restoration might look like?
      • This one-time military hard man has, he admits, grown attached to his home comforts.
      • She is forced to be hard and stick to her decisions, but she is always fair.
      • What a pity it would be if the Australian debacle was to bring the hard man back to centre stage again.
      • They elected the hard man, the sheriff who would give them the best protection.
      • He also recently traded in his harmonica for a role as a hard man in a television drama.
      • If he played on the right he came up against notorious hard man Tommy Banks.
      • If you look at the nature of people involved in gangs in Scotland, a lot of them would be regarded as being very hard people.
      • He's obviously no pushover, but I think he probably needs someone to be the hard man at his side.
      • I used to be removed from the house because I looked like a hard man whereas my wife was educated.
      • Aaron plays the lead role as a hard man who runs a garage with two friends.
      • He was a member of the Cadet Force and rose to the rank of sergeant with a reputation as being a hard man.
      • Just a sniff of weakness and these hard men will grab the opportunity with both hands.
      • Too many times midfielders, the ultimate hard men on the pitch, were knocked off the ball.
      • His detractors lead one to imagine Mr Carey to be the archetypal cigar-chewing hard man in a sheepskin coat.
      • Many a coach must have asked their resident hard man to successfully confront Johnson, but none have managed it.
      • Vince is a hard player, a good talker, and unlike most good talkers, is a most positive doer.
      • As I was serving the buffet the midfield hard man asked me to put Ceefax on the telly so he could see what the Scotland score was.
      • We have hard men on our team who will always go for the ball.
      • Three nights in Florence and I'd become a softy and I was scared of these Southern hard men.
    2. 1.2 (of prices of shares, commodities, etc.) high and stable; firm.
      （股票价格，商品价格）稳健的
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Since nearly 70% of hard stock is tightly held and not available for sale at the moment, that leaves a very small number of hard shares available.
      • In uncertain times, investors usually prefer the certainty of hard money.
      • It is a company built on hard assets.
      • Examples of hard commodities include platinum, copper and oil.

  • 2Done with a great deal of force or strength.

    猛烈的，沉重的

    a hard whack

    重击。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • He said softly while he caressed the side of my face that was still hurting from his hard blow.
    • We chose to sit on a comfortable settee rather than on hard chairs or impractical looking stools.
    • Not once did the woman utter a sound, any cry of pain, she simply stood there, flinching when a hard blow came down on her.
    • Buddy cuffed Roy on the head, slapped a small shovel in his hands, and gave him a hard shove.
    • Josh ran over to Alex who had just given me a really hard blow to the cheek bone.
    • The next hard blow to the head could be fatal, they said, and he must not fight again.
    • It then made several very long hard runs forcing me to give line and then play it back.
    • As he was doing so he felt a hard blow to the side of his face and then another to the top of his head, he told the court.
    • The attack involved several hard blows to the side of the head and being punched in the face, according to Mr Dixon.
    • If he does anything tricky just give him a good hard whack with these here gauntlets.
    • Ichiru choked for a second, and Watz gave him a hard whack on his back before it would go down.
    • I had grown angry and pursued him in a fit of fury when he had rejoined his family and given him a hard blow to his head, that is for a two year old.
    • Danny had forced a hard kiss onto her roughly and now, he was standing there shocked.
    • He gave Tyler a rather hard slap on the back that made him nearly fall over the counter.
    • The police asked me if the child had fallen or received a hard blow to the injured area of her head.
    • Daryl immediately released her and stepped back like he had received a hard blow in the chest.
    • He reached for the knife from his father's wooden box and struck two hard blows into his stomach.
    • He had reluctantly left, returned and then hit Mohammed Akbar a hard blow on the head with a baseball bat.
    Synonyms
    forceful, heavy, strong, sharp, smart, violent, powerful, vigorous, mighty, hefty, tremendous

  • 3Requiring a great deal of endurance or effort.

    难以忍受的；困苦的

    airship-flying was pretty hard work

    驾驶飞艇曾是件艰苦的工作。

    it's hard for drummers these days

    最近旅行推销员的日子不好过。

    with infinitive she found it hard to believe that he could be involved

    她感到很难相信他会卷入其中。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • It's a body of thinking and writing whose limits are exceedingly hard to define.
    • Searching for new wrecks requires patience and sometimes hard choices.
    • People say that it takes ten years of hard study to prepare for a career and love.
    • I find this very hard to answer and the reason is that almost anything is possible now.
    • In order to be successful with your career or your hobby, you have to put a lot of effort and hard work into it.
    • She also said the uncertainty of the past week had been very hard to deal with.
    • Now that the damage is setting in, she tires easily and finds it hard to fight off common infections.
    • It is not only hard physical work that makes people exhausted, stress has a similar effect.
    • Quite what effect his outbursts are having on his daughter is hard to imagine.
    • She still found it hard to believe that he had survived the fire with just a small amount of injuries.
    • However, all the hard work is still to come when we fully open to the public.
    • To be a successful President is hard enough without having to spend the majority of the year playing catch up.
    • It takes determination, overtime and hard graft, but there is nothing like starting your own business.
    • The planting involved a great deal of hard work from our volunteers.
    • Sorting out serious debt can be a long hard slog and their support is often invaluable.
    • I think if someone has never experienced depression or that depth of emotional despair it can be hard to comprehend.
    • It was hard to resist the temptation to eat the oranges as fast as we picked them.
    • So looking at the big picture, it is hard to see why prices should rise at all.
    • A team-builder, he has a huge appetite for hard work, but can always break off for a laugh or a joke
    • Looking at Julia as she cuddles her beautiful young daughter, it's hard to believe how different life used to be.
    Synonyms
    arduous, strenuous, tiring, fatiguing, exhausting, wearying, back-breaking, gruelling, heavy, laborious
    difficult, taxing, exacting, testing, challenging, demanding, punishing, tough, formidable, onerous, rigorous, uphill, Herculean
    informal murderous, killing, hellish
    British informal knackering
    rare toilsome, exigent
    difficult, puzzling, perplexing, baffling, bewildering, mystifying, knotty, thorny, ticklish, problematic, enigmatic, complicated, complex, intricate, involved, tangled, insoluble, unfathomable, impenetrable, incomprehensible, unanswerable
    informal spiny, mind-bending
    North American informal gnarly
    rare insolvable, wildering
    1. 3.1 Putting a lot of energy into an activity.
      努力的
      he'd been a hard worker all his life

      他一辈子努力工作。

      everyone has been hard at work

      所有的人都一直努力工作。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Lekota said the government and the defence force were hard at work to reduce the infection rate.
      • A woodpecker had himself a nice fat acorn, and he was hard at work to crack it open.
      • The Berkeley team and others are now hard at work looking at the chemistry of elements 107 and above.
      • Gritting teams were hard at work today clearing routes but some councils were accused of leaving it too late.
      • By the time they got back round the harbour, three men were already hard at work.
      • They were hard at work heading over the cruelly steep hill that would take them into Denholme then home.
      • We're hard at work on a new show for White Cube, run by the lovely Jay Jopling.
      • Hermance was a strong willed person and a hard worker with good organizational skills.
      • That is why scientists in York are hard at work on developing a new type of packaging that can be composted.
      Synonyms
      diligent, hard-working, industrious, sedulous, assiduous, conscientious, energetic, keen, enthusiastic, zealous, earnest, persevering, persistent, unflagging, untiring, indefatigable
      studious
    2. 3.2 Difficult to bear; causing suffering.
      难以承受的；艰苦的
      times were hard at the end of the war

      战争结束后生活十分艰苦。

      he'd had a hard life

      他一生艰辛。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • It is her ability to deal with the hard times that her son-in-law so admires.
      • They have worked in hard conditions with poor weather and yet they have done wonderful work.
      • People were having hard times, relationship difficulties, and it does rub off on you.
      • They were on the whole extremely sympathetic to the hard lives which most of their readers led.
      • Sinatra was born into hard times, the son of Italian immigrants, in Hoboken, New Jersey.
      • Talya was the most vulnerable and she had a very hard time. She bore the brunt of her mum's anger.
      • The club is hoping for a better second half to the season but life is hard because of the financial restraints.
      • So it's up to you to show that a squirrel knows about winter, and hard times ahead, when it buries nuts.
      • No doubt the ban has been a hard blow to some parts of the hospitality industry.
      • He had a very hard life, did all the difficult jobs working-class men do.
      • But they hope to supplement their income with winnings when times are hard, too.
      • I have the greatest sympathy with those on hard times as I have experienced that myself.
      • It's great for Roger because he's had a hard time since he suffered a horrendous injury last season.
      • The lifestyle of peasants in Medieval England was extremely hard and harsh.
      • Even reproducing artists are beginning to sense the hard times ahead.
      • It is a very hard and difficult life when a child in the family is autistic.
      • She had endured an extremely hard life.
      • This is a very hard blow to take, as you can imagine, but in the police service one has to expect the unexpected.
      • Although conditions were hard the system was well established and functioned for years.
      • Some time later he experienced hard times and was forced to sell some of his land.
      • Relaxation helps you to build energy that can be called upon to get you through hard times.
      • David Frederick was the big brother I never got as a kid, and so losing him was a hard blow.
      • And going to jail this time I had a really hard time, I've been to jail a few times but this last time was bad.
      Synonyms
      harsh, grim, difficult, bad, bleak, dire, tough, austere, unpleasant, disagreeable, uncomfortable, intolerable, unendurable, unbearable, insupportable
      straitened, spartan, dark, severe, distressing, painful, awful
    3. 3.3 Difficult to understand or solve.
      难懂的；难解的
      this is a really hard question

      这真是个令人费解的问题。

    4. 3.4 Not showing sympathy or affection; strict.
      冷酷无情的；严格的
      he can be such a hard taskmaster

      他就会是这么一个冷酷的工头。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Not only is it a hard taskmaster, insatiable in the demands it makes on its followers, it often saves the best till last.
      • He seemed a hard taskmaster, but he did it all for what he saw to be the ultimate good.
      • She snatched the boy by his collar on his tunic, and half-dragged him the rest of the way up the hill, her face hard.
      • Taylor considers himself to be something of a hard taskmaster but he has been delighted with the response of his players.
      • Gilbert is a hard taskmaster, but Murray certainly knew that before they got together.
      • He has been portrayed in some quarters as a hard taskmaster who doesn't suffer fools gladly.
      • Many liken him to a stern Victorian mill owner but there is a soft centre lurking within the hard exterior.
      • He is said by colleagues to be a hard taskmaster who does not tolerate failure.
      • His voice was hard and harsh, strict and stern.
      Synonyms
      strict, harsh, firm, severe, stern, tough, rigorous, demanding, exacting, unkind, unfriendly, unsympathetic, cold, heartless, hard-hearted, cold-hearted, unfeeling, intransigent, unbending, uncompromising, inflexible, intolerant, implacable, stubborn, obdurate, unyielding, unrelenting, unsparing, lacking compassion, grim, ruthless, merciless, oppressive, tyrannical, pitiless, callous, cruel, vicious, unjust, unfair
      standing no nonsense, ruling with a rod of iron
      informal hard-boiled
      North American informal badass
      Australian/New Zealand informal solid
    5. 3.5 (of a season or the weather) severe.
      （季节，天气）严酷的；凛冽的
      it's been a long, hard winter

      这是个漫长而严酷的冬天。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • This can mean the difference between life and death during a hard winter.
      • A hard rain while the vines are flowering will knock the blooms off the plant and reduce the size of the crop.
      • If the rains are too hard, young plants and seedlings can be washed away.
      • In times gone by, a big year for berries was regarded as an indicator of a hard winter ahead but this it is not always the case.
      • Those words may have to console the goalkeeper through a long, hard winter.
      • Experts at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh had been fearing a hard winter.
      • All the bees had died and I had to build it up from scratch from one queen that survived a hard winter.
      • If the concrete has not set and the rain is hard or the slope is steep, nobody will be happy.
      • I could hear debris hitting the house and the rain was so hard I was sure we were in for a flood.
      • It is a time characterised by a lack of vitamins in the human body after a hard winter.
      • During the first hard winters, the more delicate settlers had a smaller chance of staying alive.
      • That's far too organised and impractical for us, though, as we have a long hard winter to get through.
      • After a very hard winter with huge amounts of snow the season had been expected to get under way later than usual.
      • They say the crows nested twice this year as there will be no food to feed the young next spring due to the hard weather.
      • Two rhododendrons were about to bloom in the governor's garden, which looked as if it had survived a hard winter.
      • But there are two things that should be pointed out to those who really know about hard winters.
      • Certainly the winters can be hard - but by all accounts not as bad as in the old days!
      • Eiswein is made from grapes left on the vines until the first hard frost of winter.
      • It could be a long, hard winter for people who rely on home heating oil to stay warm.
      • They grow big and can often be caught in all weathers, even in hard winter conditions.
      Synonyms
      bitterly cold, cold, bitter, harsh, severe, extreme, bleak, freezing, icy, icy-cold, arctic, polar, Siberian, glacial
    6. 3.6 Harsh or unpleasant to the senses.
      （感觉上）难受的；刺目的；刺耳的；令人不快的
      the hard light of morning

      上午刺目的强光。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • We drive for a while and suddenly there is a loud, hard noise, and people run in all directions.
      • Then there you are in the broken temple on top, in the hard sunshine, looking down on the world.
      • The church basement is cold and hard morning light breaks through high windows.
      • Looking out over this parched, shimmering landscape in the cold hard light of morning it's a miracle that anything survives here at all.
      • The house is cold and the car is cold and everything is cold, bright, hard and vacant.
      Synonyms
      harsh, grim, difficult, bad, bleak, dire, tough, austere, unpleasant, disagreeable, uncomfortable, intolerable, unendurable, unbearable, insupportable
    7. 3.7 (of wine) harsh or sharp to the taste, especially because of tannin.
      （尤指葡萄酒因含有单宁酸而）苦涩的；烈的
      Example sentencesExamples
      • A hard wine has not aged enough to achieve a proper balance.
      • If your wine is too hard, too tannic, too acidic, snap the pouring unit onto your bottle, pour the wine through it, and it will be altered into a better state by the magnets inside.
      • Too much tannin and the wine is hard and earthy.

  • 4(of information) reliable, especially because based on something true or substantiated.

    （信息，资料）可靠的；确凿无疑的；真实的

    hard facts about the underclass are maddeningly elusive

    有关下层阶级的真实情况令人恼火地难以捉摸。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • But there appears to be little hard evidence of pupils failing to turn up for the second paper.
    • The officer added that it was difficult for the police to name suspects now due to lack of hard evidence.
    • The kinds of stories that go on the front page of newspapers are hard news.
    • They both treated it in a clinical way, making sure to get the cold, hard facts reported.
    • You couldn't actually put any real hard facts in this article could you?
    • We pointed out that this did not amount to hard evidence and that there could be other explanations for what we saw.
    • Of course, the papers were rife with opinion and speculation but cold hard facts were thin on the ground.
    • But there is no hard evidence that he ever met Richard, let alone searched for him across Europe.
    • It is only a failure if we think that individuals should be detained on mere assertions and not on hard proof.
    • He urged investors to make their decisions based on hard information and not rumors.
    • They realised we had hard evidence on what was happening and they promised to cooperate.
    • I, for one, would need a lot more hard information before I could make my mind up about it.
    • There is also no hard evidence to suggest that the UK economy will suffer because of a future skills shortage.
    • I think the time has come to stop playing around and to seek out some hard information.
    • It takes a special kind of mindset to be this delusional in the face of cold, hard facts.
    • When and how will they begin to retract their unambiguous presentation of the story as hard news?
    • There were constant rumours of further waves but there was no hard information as we had no radio or TV.
    • Nevertheless, hard proof that he ordered the hijackings may never come to light.
    • Yet today those interest rate cuts were interpreted as hard proof that things must be bad.
    • But you really need to have hard proof of some sort if you wanted those theories to stick.
    Synonyms
    reliable, definite, true, actual, confirmed, undeniable, indisputable, unquestionable, verifiable
    plain, cold, bare, bold, harsh, unvarnished, unembellished
    1. 4.1 (of a subject of study) dealing with precise and verifiable facts.
      （学科）实证的，硬的
      efforts to turn psychology into hard science

      把心理学变成硬科学的努力。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • But how far should we go to smuggle hard subjects into the minds of disaffected youth?
      • With so little good hard science on the BBC it's a pity to see a good chunk of the budget go on something so lightweight.
      • The hard sciences, for example, are at the cutting edge of economic development.
      • There remains a common criticism that economics lacks the rigor to classify it as a hard science.
      • This makes him sound like Borges or Calvino, and in a sense he is, but with hard science to back him up.
    2. 4.2 Denoting an extreme or dogmatic faction within a political party.
      （政党内部派别）极端的；固执己见的
      the hard left

      极左派。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • He declares that he does not want to interpret her international activities within a hard left framework.
      • Immediately after the armistice was signed an election in Paris returned a hard right government.
      • There are local Liberals who say her own hard right faction was to blame.
      • Independents can be of the anti-war left, but others come from the populist hard right.
      • Thankfully, the moderate wing of the party split from the hard left and the Falklands War took care of the rest.
    3. 4.3 (of science fiction) dealing with technological advances which do not contravene currently accepted scientific laws or principles.
      a hard SF novel

      硬科幻小说。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • He has crafted more realistic versions of the cast that are much more appropriate for the series' hard sci-fi background.
      • The great exponents of hard SF in its heyday of the 1950s were Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke.
      • I do read a lot of sci-fi novels. There are two types: hard sci-fi and soft sci-fi.
      • This isn't a movie for fans of hard science fiction.
      • My scientific background consists of a few relevant Carl Sagan books and hard sci-fi novels.

  • 5Strongly alcoholic; denoting a spirit rather than beer or wine.

    （烈性酒）烈性强的，度数高的（指烈酒而非啤酒或葡萄酒）

    Example sentencesExamples
    • You can't drown problems in hard alcohol.
    • The forecast down Cancun way is positively sizzling and we have hard liquor and a Jacuzzi in our room, so the outlook is sunny.
    • I try to stay away from hard liquor as I get started and don't know when to stop.
    • My daughter is not used to hard drink.
    • She prepares a cup with far more hard liquor than punch and returns to Frank's side.
    • Start guzzling hard liquor right off the bat and the binge is over before it started.
    • I don't drink hard liquor anymore, it drives me insane with rage and I've ended up in jail too many times.
    • He offered it to her and when she took a swig the hard liquor burned down her throat.
    • Beer is consumed as a typical light alcoholic beverage, while rum is the hard liquor of choice.
    • You can mix wine with beer and beer with hard liquor but not wine with hard liquor.
    • There are eight others, passing around a bottle of hard liquor.
    • This is by far the best method ever of guaranteeing you get hard liquor into pretty much any event.
    • Instead of hard spirits he was going to be downing shot glasses full of beer.
    Synonyms
    alcoholic, strong, intoxicating, inebriating, stiff, potent, spirituous, vinous, intoxicant
    1. 5.1 (of a drug) potent and addictive.
      （毒品）毒性强的；易上瘾的
      Example sentencesExamples
      • For me a drug is a drug, no matter what, and soft drugs lead on to hard drugs.
      • Every recreational hard drug conceivable is washed down with booze, both bought and stolen.
      • There is weight to the argument that cannabis use leads to a greater chance of becoming involved with hard drugs.
      • A year later she said she came under the influence of her old friends and started taking hard drugs again.
      • I had a rough time and started drinking again; it wasn't long before I was back on hard drugs.
      • Lindsay recently admitted she would never try hard drugs after seeing how they affected her father.
      • Think of the resources that could instead go into reducing the use and distribution of hard drugs.
      • It is true that nearly all users of hard drugs have previously used cannabis.
      • The father-of-two, who had become involved with hard drugs, died from a gunshot wound to the chest.
      • Police chiefs insist they are winning the war on hard drugs by concentrating on the upper end of the narcotics crime scale.
      • The court heard that he threw the stash of hard drugs out of the window when police called at the home of a friend on the Pewsham Estate.
      • We know that many of those addicted to hard drugs commit a large proportion of property crime.
      • A grandad has claimed he has been labelled a dealer in hard drugs by a police leaflet campaign.
      • Would you want a violent criminal using hard drugs living next to you and your kids?
      • We need a quantum leap in treatment and rehabilitation of young hard drug addicts.
      • A main reason for the change is that it is hoped it will free up police to concentrate on hard drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine.
      • There is fear its use will spread among the thousands of hard drug addicts in Dublin.
      • Large quantities of soft drugs and hard drugs were found in the car of the eldest brother.
      • The extra officers will mean a harder life for those who deal in heroin and other hard drugs, he said.
      • We are also determined to break the link between crime and hard drugs.
      Synonyms
      addictive, habit-forming, causing dependency
      strong, harmful, narcotic
    2. 5.2 (of radiation) highly penetrating.
      （辐射）穿透力强的
      Example sentencesExamples
      • There's no air, there's hard radiation, there's poison in the ground below you and of course, it's between 100 and 150 degrees below in centigrade.
      • I would think you'd need hard radiation to initiate the cascade, but that the decay product would be softer.
      • While travelling through a medium, hard radiation produces charged particles.
    3. 5.3 (of pornography) highly obscene and explicit.
      （色情作品）淫秽的；极黄色的
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Like other addictions, addiction to pornography reaches a point when even ‘hard’ pornography is not enough to produce the excitement the addict wants.
      • The film was never shown in Britain, where hard pornography was banned in cinemas, though plenty of people saw it on pirate videos at home.
      • There is a hard porn channel on the TV in the communal area of the hotel.

  • 6(of water) containing relatively high concentrations of dissolved calcium and magnesium salts, which make lathering difficult.

    hard water requires much more soap, shampoo, or detergent than soft water
    Example sentencesExamples
    • Moving from house to house to house, from area to area, I noticed how hard water and soft water affect the skin on my face.
    • However, the water was so hard that it could be used only for washing and cleaning purposes.
    • I live in a hard water area and am concerned about the build-up of scale in the central heating system.
    • Hard water is not a health hazard, but dealing with hard water in the home can be a nuisance.
    • The dissolved salts in hard water have a similar effect, so soft water is advised.

  • 7(of the penis, clitoris, or nipples) erect.

    1. 7.1 (of a man) having an erect penis.

  • 8Phonetics
    (of a consonant) pronounced as a velar plosive (as c in cat, g in go).

    （辅音）软腭爆破音（如cat中的c，go中的g）

    Example sentencesExamples
    • Even their name has no hard consonant sounds.
    • The shorter word with a hard consonant at it's face seemed most fitting.
    • Consonants are hard unless they are followed by a soft vowel.
    • Of course I knew the title of the anthem, but I have never been able to pronounce it: too many hard consonants in succession for my Latin vocal cords.
    • Have you ever noticed how all the truly bigoted expressions are blessed with hard consonants?
adverb hɑːdhɑrd

  • 1With a great deal of effort.

    猛烈的，沉重的

    they work hard at school

    他们在学校努力学习。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • Basically back then, all I really needed to do was study hard and ensure that I got good grades.
    • Every activist should fight hard to build the biggest possible vote against the deal.
    • I've worked and studied hard for my success, and know what's it's like to live on meagre funds.
    • The teachers in this program are working hard to make sense of this mess, but the obstacles are great.
    • He's been training so hard and we're all really proud of the effort he's making.
    • But they are all working very hard in the gym.
    • With the election set to take place on Thursday of this week, Labour and the Lib Dems have been campaigning hard.
    • It's an event I would dearly love to win again and I'll be trying hard this time round.
    • He concentrated on his studies and worked hard because he wanted to get a good job.
    • The match was hard fought with chances being missed by both sides.
    • They worked hard all week and it was a great all-round team effort to win it.
    • I think that the committee worked very hard to put in a provision that was fair to everyone.
    • The city tries its best to be considerate to these students, who have studied hard for years.
    • Though working hard for the police force, Allison also found the time to give back to the community in her spare moments.
    • Laura fought hard to breathe deeply and not panic.
    • The mayor also urged the children to study hard to prove that they deserved the scholarships.
    • You might get an even lower price if you bargain hard or are staying for a while.
    • Half of the peasants were forced to work hard and were charged with a variety of obligations.
    • My sister is studying very hard, but still has not passed her university entrance exams.
    • The kids are putting in the effort, working hard, but are being short-changed.
    Synonyms
    diligently, industriously, assiduously, conscientiously, sedulously, busily, intensely, enthusiastically, energetically, earnestly, persistently, doggedly, steadily, indefatigably, untiringly, all out, with application, with perseverance
    informal like mad, like crazy, like billy-o
    with difficulty, with effort, after a struggle, painfully, arduously, laboriously
    1. 1.1 With a great deal of force; violently.
      猛烈的，沉重的
      it was raining hard

      雨下得很大。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • He hit the ground incredibly hard and shattered both his legs but was otherwise unharmed aside from some bruising.
      • The girl nodded at Simon and punched him so hard he was forced into one of the dirt walls.
      • Before he could react, she punched him hard in the stomach.
      • The wind was blowing quite hard, but there wasn't any rain coming from the total cloud cover.
      • I throw my right hand out instinctively and whack it hard against the side of the door.
      • His intensity is really appreciable and he hits the ball extremely hard.
      • The guard was hit so hard that the blow left a dent on his safety helmet.
      • He hit Nicole so hard he fractured three ribs and ruptured her spleen.
      • Charlie tried to lift her head to look at the house but the wind was blowing too hard for her to do so.
      • The car hit the kerb so hard the wheels were ripped off and split in two.
      • He quickly snatched the collar of Steven's shirt and shoved him hard against the wall.
      • It started blowing really hard, so we had to suspend operations for the day.
      • When the wind and rain blew hard they were forced to use all their strength just to keep from going overboard.
      • It had been a glorious day, with the sun beating down hard and only a light wind on the loch.
      • Once I did recover I pulled back and slapped him hard across the face.
      • My dad got up from his chair and slapped me hard across the face.
      • Instead Brian grabbed me by my shirt and shoved me hard against the wall.
      • I remember that, when the wind blew hard, it sounded almost as if somebody was crying.
      • Quickly I dropped to one knee and punched him hard in his chest before he could stand.
      • For the moment I had to content myself with hitting him quite hard with my tennis racquet.
      Synonyms
      forcefully, forcibly, fiercely, roughly, powerfully, strongly, strenuously, heavily, sharply, vigorously, intensely, energetically, with all one's might, with might and main, with vigour, with force, with great effort
      severely, badly, intensely, harshly, acutely, deeply, keenly, seriously, profoundly, violently, forcefully, grievously, gravely
      heavily, strongly, intensely, in torrents, in sheets, cats and dogs
      steadily
      British informal buckets, bucketloads, stair rods
      North American informal pitchforks

  • 2So as to be solid or firm.

    变坚硬地

    the mortar has set hard

    灰泥已经变干硬了。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • This was a material that once it set hard would not soften under heat.
    • He was lying on his back with the rope around his waist stretched tightly to where it disappeared into snow that was now set hard as concrete.
    • There have been nights where there was sweat on my towel which has frozen rock hard while I've been training.
    • Everything is frozen hard and the snow lies on the ground all the time.
    • With the ground baked hard by the hot weather of the previous few days, there was nowhere for the water to go.

  • 3To the fullest extent possible.

    在最大程度上；满满地；完全的

    put the wheel hard over to starboard

    右满舵。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • Most drivers were taught to pump the brakes and turn hard to the right or left in order to compensate for skidding.
    • It hit with a deafening roar, punching the ship sideways so violently that it rolled hard over to port.
    • He heeled the car hard over to the right.
    Synonyms
    hard, as hard as possible, for all one's worth, vigorously, with a vengeance, to the utmost, to the full, to the limit, all out
noun hɑːd
British

  • A road leading down across a foreshore.

    〈英〉海滩路

    Example sentencesExamples
    • Although The Hard is not a designated town centre it is recognised as a specialist retail and leisure area.
    • At the Common Hard he was joined by Mr. Godwin, the friend and associate of his youth.
    • Where hards form part of a name they often do so in combination with an adjective or a person's name.

Phrases

  • be hard on

    • 1Treat or criticize (someone) severely.

      严厉对待；苛待；苛责

      you're being too hard on her

      你对她太严厉了。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • ‘As you progress,’ Jenas reflects, ‘you look back and see why people were hard on you.’
      • It was more difficult than before to be hard on her.
      • But Nolan says the critics have been hard on his fellow Liverpudlian.
      • Critics have been hard on what they believe to be unnecessary extravagance during a time of war.
      • He was a severe looking man who was known to be hard on his students.
      • He was hard on Franka, harder on her than anyone he had ever instructed.
      • If it appears that I'm being hard on men, it is because I think I must.
      • I was very effeminate as a child and my mother was hard on me for it, which left me with scars that I'm still working through.
      • It's always difficult to be hard on someone you love.
      • He could be vile to his dancers and Sally was hard on me.

    • 2Be difficult for or unfair to.

      使受苦；对…不公平

      it was hard on her, because she had to walk nearly a mile out of her way
      Example sentencesExamples
      • My mother was a teacher, so she basically had to redo her qualifications, and Dad did a lot of travelling, so it was hard on her.
      • It was hard on the kids because they like to spend time with Steve.
      • ‘I'm concerned about being away from my family and it is hard on them.
      • It must be hard on her, because, if I know her, she'll be feeling responsible for her actions.
      • It must have been hard on her to have to watch someone else doing her job and on top of that doing it badly, but she never said anything about it.
      • You went through those couple of months that must have been hard on you and your family.
      • For those of non-western cultures, the difficulty in getting a job is hard on them not only economically, but also psychologically.
      • His mother died… that must have been hard on him.
      • That must have been hard on the daughter when the mother is with someone you hate.
      • Dealing with a troubled sibling is hard on the whole family.

    • 3Be likely to hurt or damage.

      对…有害

      the monitor flickers, which is hard on the eyes

      显示器闪烁不定，这对眼睛有害。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Several members had a go at plaiting straw with good results but said it was hard on the fingers.
      • It must have been hard on the hands. ‘Not really,’ says Brooks, ‘it was the changing gear that could hurt.’
      • Flying is hard on your body and you have to make sure you're getting your rest, getting your fluids, and taking care of yourself.
      • My family thinks that it is a good profession, but difficult, because it is hard on your body.
      • Since the magazine steel is very hard, cutting was hard on tools until they found a shop that could do it with a laser.
      • Now I've changed the colour scheme, since some people mentioned that a white-on-dark design was hard on their eyes.
      • Formic acid, for example, must be handled with care and can be hard on some equipment.
      • Yet the work was hard on her hands, which bled regularly from cuts of the knives and grinder.
      • Seaside salt wind is hard on its façades; its weather-beaten face is always in need of another coat of slap.
      • Hanging on to the vine was hard on the hands and often produced blisters, despite the fact that our hands were well hardened with farm work.

  • be hard put (to it)

    • usually with infinitiveFind it very difficult.

      觉得…很难；很难做到

      you'll be hard put to find a better compromise

      你很难找到比这更好的折中办法。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • In the second world war, the shortage of paper meant that publishers were hard put to stay in business.
      • If he means to stand, he would be hard put to find enough MPs to sign his card.
      • Children from a number of schools turned up in large numbers, and the volunteers were hard put to regulate the enthusiastic visitors.
      • Angry Christmas shoppers were hard put to find a space to park and ended up using every nook and cranny in the town centre to park their cars.
      • He said: ‘I would be hard put to find anyone else equal to his incredible ability.’
      • Adam was hard put to gain control of his horse and regroup the cattle before they scattered again.
      • But one would be hard put to find a single article on poverty or unemployment in mainstream Indian newspapers in the past decade or more.
      • You would, it's true, be hard put to find a half-decent politician who didn't think himself or herself the answer to the country's problems.
      • I think anyone, including myself, would be hard put to predict or even find a pattern.
      • You'd be hard put to it to find more friendly and welcoming people anywhere.

  • give someone a hard time

    • informal Deliberately make a situation difficult for someone.

      〈非正式〉有意为难某人

      Example sentencesExamples
      • The boys are giving me a hard time about all the publicity I'm getting.
      • They are people who do what is right when others give them a hard time for their beliefs.
      • Meanwhile my son is giving me a hard time for supporting the Australian cricketers.
      • He's a giant of a man and if you don't concentrate against him, he can give you a hard time.
      • If the media's giving you a hard time, don't complain about it publicly.
      • When his turn comes, the workers will not give him a hard time or cause him trouble.
      • One of the guests began giving me a hard time about the shirt.
      • He tells of one election meeting in Bristol on a steaming summer evening where one particular heckler was giving him a hard time.
      • She treads a very fine line - the boss gives her a hard time and the boys give her a hard time, so she's sometimes in a no-win situation.
      • Frank has been giving me a hard time for months about going to see her, because apparently every time he runs in to her she is just about in tears because I haven't visited.
      Synonyms
      annoy, irritate, infuriate, anger, incense, inflame, enrage, irk, chagrin, exasperate, madden, pique, provoke, nettle, disturb, upset, perturb, discompose, put out

  • go hard with

    • dated Turn out to (someone's) disadvantage.

      〈旧〉对…不利

      it would go hard with the poor

      这会对穷人不利。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • One of the two men had again prowled about the neighborhood and told him that unless he managed to get the boy away that night it would go hard with him.
      • One of the things that goes hard with Hetty in the trial is that she at first refuses to give her identity and obdurately denies that she ever had a baby, let alone killed it.
      • And if it goes hard with me, I will stand it, and I will cling to my logic, and I will bear it like a man.
      • Cutting a helpless throat, even when it belonged to scum like this, went hard with him.
      • Should such a creature encounter a swimming man it would go hard with the man.

  • hard and fast

    • (of a rule or a distinction made) fixed and definitive.

      （规则，差别）不可更动的；无法改变的

      there are no hard and fast rules about that
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Readers are apt to assume a hard and fast distinction between novel and romance.
      • Yet that rule isn't always as hard and fast as it would seem and sometimes actually demands to be broken.
      • The hours either side of dawn and dusk are generally the best, although this is not a hard and fast rule.
      • If a child is bright they will learn quicker than another child but there are no hard and fast rules.
      • I don't think there should be any hard and fast rules about this issue.
      • Like all rules governing taxation, the categories are never hard and fast.
      • One of the few hard and fast rules of comedy is that puppets are always funny.
      • In the few days he had been in the country, he had learned some very hard and fast rules.
      • The programme is mainly aimed at secondary school students, but there are no hard and fast rules and a number of primaries also take part.
      • As far as age limits are concerned, there are no hard and fast rules.
      Synonyms
      definite, fixed, set, strict, rigid, binding, stringent, rigorous, clear-cut, cast-iron, established, inflexible, immutable, unalterable, invariable, unvarying, unchangeable, unchanging, incontestable, incontrovertible, uncompromising

  • hard at it

    • informal Busily working or occupied.

      〈非正式〉忙得不可开交

      they were hard at it with brooms and mops

      他们忙着用扫帚和拖把打扫卫生。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • We're hard at it, and we're making good progress.
      • The cast are hard at it with practising and preparation.
      • He's been hard at it since March, and the results have been positive.
      • By 2004 you will be hard at it on the seniors circuit, both in Europe and the US and will have lost a lot of contact with the players.
      • She's been hard at it since, working with Amnesty International and others to organise a public meeting.
      • There are undoubtedly a few Irish players, not to mention the coach himself, who could do without this trip to South Africa given that they've been hard at it now for almost 12 months.
      • Having been hard at it all the morning trying to cram a day's work into a few hours, I decided that a cup of coffee would be a great pick me up.
      • Just because I appear to be idle does not mean I am not hard at it.
      • On a sunlit morning, she is already hard at it in a corner of the old downtown premises of local fashion designer Tanya Carlson, where she's trying to finish up some work.
      • They were still hard at it when I finally realised that I was surplus to requirements.
      Synonyms
      occupied, occupied in, engaged in, involved in, employed in, working at, labouring at, toiling at, slaving at, hard at work, hard at work on, wrapped up, wrapped up in, wrapped up with

  • hard by

    • Close to.

      靠近

      he lived hard by the cathedral

      他住的地方离大教堂很近。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • We lived hard by the factory and our windows gave on the factory yard.
      • The balloting took place in Westminster's Church House, hard by the House of Commons.
      • Here's a picture of my sunny destination - Tavira, hard by the Spanish border.
      • The undertaking establishment was on the Brompton Road hard by the chapel and nearby Trevor Square.
      • While I was there I went up around noon to a small church hard by the large harbour.
      Synonyms
      close to, right by, close by, beside, near, near to, nearby, not far from, a short distance from, a step away from, a stone's throw from, on the doorstep of, in the vicinity of, in the neighbourhood of, round the corner from, within easy reach of, adjacent to

  • hard done by

    • Harshly or unfairly treated.

      〈英〉被虐待；受到不公平对待

      she would be justified in feeling hard done by

      要是她觉得受到了虐待，这完全有道理。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Annie sees herself as permanently hard done by.
      • These articles paint a picture of a poor retired couple that have been very hard done by and are in need of protection from neighbours.
      • However, they still have cause to feel a little hard done by.
      • Several other players can feel hard done by to not make the shortlist but, after such a fine team performance, picking three players out was a near-impossible task.
      • Faced with the complex task of establishing which party is telling the truth, family court judges tend to defer to the mother, leaving fathers feeling hard done by and resentful.
      • He seems, most of the time, like a man born to be hard done by.
      • By all accounts, the Scotland squad is feeling a little hard done by, and to a certain extent, you can understand why.
      • Some people are going to feel hard done by, and speaking to them, they have very convincing arguments.
      • ‘I'm fed up feeling hard done by because we have only ourselves to blame,’ said Williamson.
      • I don't think Dad ever complained he'd been hard done by.

  • hard feelings

    • usually with negativeFeelings of resentment.

      怨恨

      there are no hard feelings and we wish him well

      我们一点也不怨恨，我们希望他好。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Fortunately there are absolutely no hard feelings.
      • We don't have any hard feelings for you or to anyone in the world, we just want to live in peace.
      • Sarah had firm ideas of what the garden should be like and challenged Matt over one or two of his ideas, forcing him to the return to the drawing board, but she insisted there were no hard feelings.
      • He left them as politely as possible, and with no hard feelings.
      • He returns to face them this afternoon with no hard feelings.
      • He had summoned my father to make peace, claiming through an intermediary that there were no hard feelings and that he didn't know what all the fuss was about.
      • Then she winks to let me know there are no hard feelings.
      • He managed a weak smile before saying to her, ‘So no hard feelings about Sunday?’
      • It was just a short letter telling me there were no hard feelings, that he had nothing against me off the field and that what happened on the field was one thing and what happened off it was another.
      • He admitted he was disappointed to lose his place but insisted he had no hard feelings.
      Synonyms
      resentment, animosity, ill feeling, ill feelings, ill will, bitterness, bad blood, resentfulness, rancour, malice, acrimony, antagonism, antipathy, animus, friction, anger, hostility, hate, hatred

  • hard going

    • Difficult to understand or enjoy.

      难懂的；难解的

      the studying is at times hard going

      研究有时是很困难的。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • A hefty tome like Ulysses may appear at first to be hard going.
      • It is hard going but it is something I will see through, even if it takes the rest of my life.
      • I wasn't sure what to expect of the classes, and unfortunately I'm finding them hard going.
      • The statistics course is aimed at beginners, but I am finding it pretty hard going - and it is only day one.
      • The book runs to some 500 pages and I found it rather hard going.
      • But no matter how much fun you try to make it, it can be hard going.
      • It's hard going at first - the descriptions are dense, poetic word-paintings - but once you're engaged with the characters you'll be hooked.
      • It was a fairly unconventional film, and I think a number of people including myself found it pretty hard going.
      • We started watching the film but found it hard going because it was getting late and we were tired.
      • The article is pretty hard going.

  • hard hit

    • Badly affected.

      受到严重影响，受到严重打击

      Trinidad had been hard hit by falling oil prices

      特立尼达受到石油价格下跌的严重打击。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • The cotton, tobacco and beef industries were particularly hard hit.
      • But York was hard hit by the floods of a year ago, and many small business are still struggling to recover.
      • The tourism and entertainment industries have been hard hit by the falloff in air travel.
      • Agricultural land is being snapped up by investors, often wealthy farmers from the north of Ireland who have not been as hard hit by beef bans and food scares.
      • The company had been hard hit by rising steel and oil costs, and was struggling to raise prices for its products.
      • Some have been hard hit by major retail and out-of-town superstores.
      • Millions of manufacturing jobs have been lost in this country but now the service industry is also being hard hit.
      • Food and drink, tourism and manufacturing have been particularly hard hit.
      • Small businesses are particularly hard hit because they cannot negotiate discounts like big companies.
      • Louisiana towns just east of the Texas border were particularly hard hit by the storm surges and flooding.

  • hard luck (or lines)

    • informal Used to express sympathy or commiserations.

      〈英，非正式〉 用于表示同情、怜悯、遗憾、可惜真可惜；真遗憾

      ironic if you don't like it then hard luck

      如果你不喜欢它，那真是可惜。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • If the weather should be bad, as it often is, then hard luck; that was your compulsory day off and you can't have it on another day instead.
      • So if you're hungry, hard luck, although certainly pay a visit if you value a decent pint and good company in congenial surroundings.
      • Congratulations to the ladies who won the Ladies Basketball county final and hard luck to the men's team who were defeated in the Men's Basketball final.
      • The invites have been sent out, if you didn't get one hard luck, but I'm sure there are plenty more out there.
      • Congratulations to the Armagh U - 21 team who won the All-Ireland last Saturday and hard luck to the Mayo team.
      • If you live on the wrong side of the road and rely on your post, hard luck!
      • It's just hard luck if you are an elderly person who doesn't move that quickly, or some tired and overburdened shopper.
      • So Baz, hard luck, maybe better luck next time, but I did say you were backing the wrong team.
      • ‘It is hard luck on those who have not made it but competition for places is very strong and it is a healthy situation to be in,’ said Byas.
      • I say what I think and, unfortunately, if you don't like it, it's hard luck.

  • hard of hearing

    • Not able to hear well.

      听不清楚

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Over half of people aged over 60 are hard of hearing or deaf.
      • Some of us are hard of hearing and could not hear the officer in the car going by.
      • I think my ears are clogged up with wax, as I have been a bit hard of hearing lately.
      • He may be hard of hearing but his brain is as sharp as ever.
      • One of the twins was hard of hearing and the other could hear quite well.
      • Not all people who are hard of hearing read lips or use sign language.
      • Judges have ruled that he is hard of hearing rather than deaf, despite medical evidence proving he cannot hear anything.
      • Helen has been a carer for her mum, who is hard of hearing and is severely disabled with arthritis, for the past 11 years.
      • Although suffering from failing eyesight and being a touch hard of hearing, the great grandmother has retained an acute memory of her childhood days.
      • He is hard of hearing and needs someone to translate his speech.
      Synonyms
      hard of hearing, hearing-impaired, with impaired hearing, unhearing, stone deaf, deafened, profoundly deaf

  • hard on (or upon)

    • Close to; following soon after.

      紧跟着

      hard on the heels of Wimbledon comes the Henley Regatta

      温布尔登网球赛之后紧跟着就是亨里赛舟会。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • The trainer was philosophical about his victory coming hard on the heels of his loss.
      • On the field tragedy follows hard upon triumph, ease and discomfort sit side by side…
      • The move follows hard on the heels of an acquisition which has seen business gains in the west of Scotland.
      • These excellent results are following hard on the heels of an impressive Oftsed report.
      • The General Strike in England was in 1926, when Auden was nineteen, and it was followed hard upon by the Depression.
      • Stacks of musty books were no substitute for the fresh, clean air of the season, but exams were hard upon us, and there was no time to stop and smell the flowers, not unless we scheduled it in between study sessions.
      • This announcement follows hard upon the October announcement of a restructuring plan.
      • At any other time there would be a protracted period of recollection, but the election is hard upon us.
      Synonyms
      soon after, hard on the heels of, quickly after, promptly after, shortly after, immediately after, directly after, straight after, right after, a short time after, without delay after

  • hard up

    • informal Short of money.

      〈非正式〉没钱，手头紧

      I'm too hard up to buy fancy clothes

      我手头太紧，买不起漂亮的衣服。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Thankfully, I've never been truly hard up, but some of the 1980s were a bit tough.
      • It really worries me when relatives buy you something even though you know they are hard up.
      • I have always been keen to earn money, so while I couldn't say I have ever been really hard up, it's because I have worked to make sure I'm not.
      • I was very hard up when I was at school and university.
      • Virtually overnight, they were out of business and very, very hard up.
      • He could be very generous - lending money to hard up locals, or secretly dropping off a carton of groceries at someone's back door.
      • And as unreliable as official statistics are, there can be no doubt that far too many people are hard up.
      • Don't use the excuse of being hard up as a reason for not doing it.
      • I think that's probably insulting to people who are genuinely really, really hard up.
      • But, to be honest, I would have to say I've never been really hard up.
      Synonyms
      poor, short of money, short of cash, impoverished, impecunious, in financial difficulties, financially embarrassed, financially distressed, in reduced circumstances, in straitened circumstances, unable to make ends meet

  • the hard way

    • Through suffering or learning from the unpleasant consequences of mistakes.

      来之不易

      you're going to learn the hard way who you're up against
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Victory will be earned the hard way, and in the end it may come down to the survival of the fittest.
      • But it's hard to see him working his way up the hard way, heading out for a council meeting on a scooter.
      • It is good advice and given by people who have learned their lesson the hard way.
      • He was very clear in his views and showed that he had learnt the game the hard way.
      • It was a title he earned the hard way; in fact, nobody had to work harder to win a World title.
      • He learned the hard way when to take on the system and when to tolerate it.
      • During the last recession, however, everyone learned the hard way that prices could fall.
      • We learnt the hard way that being rude to colleagues is no way to behave.
      • It was a gutsy display and the home side earned their three points the hard way.
      • I learned the hard way just how critically important it is to always wear a seat belt.

  • play hard to get

    • informal Deliberately adopt an aloof or uninterested attitude, typically in order to make oneself more attractive or interesting.

      〈非正式〉（为吸引对方而）故作冷漠；故作不感兴趣

      Example sentencesExamples
      • ‘He tried to talk to me for a while after we met, but I was playing hard to get,’ she said with a slight smile.
      • In this love affair, like many others, playing hard to get can only make for a better relationship.
      • I bet you're one of those girls who plays hard to get.
      • After months of being cautious and playing hard to get, I'm going to bravely risk rejection this time.
      • They are playing hard to get with the media, and are keeping us all interested.
      • What could be more perverse than playing hard to get when looking for the one we can really open up to?
      • While I know logically that it's safest to play hard to get, to keep my heart locked away so that no one can hurt me, that's just not who I am.
      • Sometimes when dates played hard to get, it made the chase more interesting and the inevitable surrender more satisfying.
      • Girls should have the confidence to play hard to get, to wait until they find a mate who matches their demands rather than giving in so easily.
      • Julie was still playing hard to get and Bryce was too proud to admit that his girlfriend overpowered him.

  • put the hard word on

    • 1informal Ask a favour of (someone), especially a sexual or financial one.

      〈澳/新，非正式〉（尤指在性或金钱上）提出要求

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Then a couple of boozed-up blokes who put the hard word on Jen decide to take you on despite a large spanner in your hand and things really kick off.
      • If you're looking for a government grant, I'd stop him after the show to put the hard word on him.
      • If I put the hard word on any of my students or colleagues I supervise I deserve to be booted out of my job because I am potentially exploiting my authority.
      1. 1.1Put pressure on (someone).
        向…施压
        Example sentencesExamples
        • She put the hard word on me to come out later that night to see a gig her boy was performing in.
        • I was a bit wary of putting up such a thing uncensored, especially as it seemed so out of whack with mainstream media reports, but my brother put the hard word on me, and I succumbed.
        • In any event, the Government's going to be putting the hard word on the Labor Council and the public sector unions: there'll be no room for wage increases in this budget cycle.
        • There is a precedent for putting the hard word on a government staffer to give evidence to a Senate committee.

Derivatives

  • hardish

    • adjective
    • It seems that many hardish maths problems are about using some type of ‘trick’ or method which is not obvious at first sight.
      Example sentencesExamples
      • These candles are messy, and hardish to use… at least hardish to use without getting it all over everything else around.
      • Sometimes I like to pan two mics one hardish left, and one hardish right for a nice stereo spread of the guitar, but this is not such a good idea if you have other guitars or instruments in the same sonic range in the mix, as it can tend to muddy things up too much, and make for less clarity.
      • I polish my pots with a tumbled agate or back of a spoon when the pots are on the hardish side of leather hard and get a nice shine which carries through even after firing.
      • Manchego is a hardish cheese, not unlike Cheddar.

Origin

Old English hard, heard, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hard and German hart.

Rhymes

Assad, aubade, avant-garde, backyard, ballade, bard, Bernard, bombard, canard, card, charade, chard, couvade, croustade, Cunard, facade, glissade, guard, ill-starred, interlard, lard, Montagnard, nard, pard, petard, pomade, promenade, regard, rodomontade, roulade, saccade, Sade, salade, sard, shard, unmarred, unscarred, yard
adj.1
phr.

Definition of hard in US English:

hard

adjectivehɑrdhärd

  • 1Solid, firm, and rigid; not easily broken, bent, or pierced.

    坚实的；牢固的；坚硬的

    a hard mattress

    硬垫子。

    ground frozen hard as a rock
    Example sentencesExamples
    • After all, it takes a certain commitment to pay high prices for a hard seat in a draughty theatre.
    • Her body lay flat against the hard mattress she had been lying in for little over a week.
    • This method can produce a wide range of products, from oily coatings to hard coatings and powders.
    • The cold weather had made the ground solid and too hard for the dirt to trap footprints.
    • Don't worry about the pears being a bit hard - they'll ripen in seconds on the grill.
    • At the time, I was on my feet all day at work on a very cold, hard concrete floor.
    • Outside the night was cool and fresh, but the ground was hard and still the rains had not come.
    • Breathing became difficult, her muscles shook, and she toppled to her knees on the hard floor.
    • I lay on my back on the hard floor, moving my bag up underneath my head for a bit of comfort.
    • Having made his decision, Brett turned over on the uncomfortable, hard floor, satisfied.
    • Boots thudded on the hard floor as the man wearing them looked into each of the cells.
    • We finally dumped our bags on the floor and collapsed on the rock hard beds in silence.
    • Wes awoke with a start when he felt something hard whack him in the stomach.
    • I lay splayed out, face down on the hard floor for a minute or two, paralysed by embarrassment and surprise.
    • Home for them was a cold, damp shed, with a hard concrete floor with little or no bedding.
    • The volunteers used to sleep a dozen to a room on thin pallets laid out on the hard floor of their offices.
    • He takes a step before his eyes suddenly roll back in his head and he collapses on the hard floor.
    • My youngest daughter fell out of her high chair on to a hard floor.
    • She sat down to the hard floor of the tunnel and sat there, thinking about what to do.
    • Some may insist you sleep on mats on hard floors to straighten out the spine, but they are in a minority.
    • He handed it to Vicky who found it unexpectedly light, it looked so ornate and delicate but felt solid and hard.
    • Make sure there are no sharp corners or hard edges where she could hurt herself.
    • Now he lay on the hard mattress of a cheap hotel, staring at the empty space next to him.
    • The floor is hard, but cool and somehow the food tastes better and the conversation is lighter.
    • When Anna awoke, she found herself back in a side room of the main lab on a rather hard bed.
    • Some skaters prefer this for the tiny increase in control you get with very hard carbon fibre skate boots.
    • The easiest way to crack it is to wrap it in a grocery bag and drop it on a hard floor.
    • The pathways break down when it loses the natural, hard compact soil which keeps the path together.
    Synonyms
    firm, solid, dense, rigid, stiff, resistant, unbreakable, inflexible, unpliable, impenetrable, unyielding, solidified, hardened, compact, compacted, steely, tough, strong, stony, rock-like, flinty, close-packed, compressed, as hard as iron, as hard as stone
    1. 1.1 (of a person) not showing any signs of weakness; tough.
      （人）坚强的；能力强的；能应付困境的
      the hard, tough, honest cop
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Vince is a hard player, a good talker, and unlike most good talkers, is a most positive doer.
      • I used to be removed from the house because I looked like a hard man whereas my wife was educated.
      • Aaron plays the lead role as a hard man who runs a garage with two friends.
      • You want to know what his hard men who had done well out of Napoleon and the Bourbon Restoration might look like?
      • His detractors lead one to imagine Mr Carey to be the archetypal cigar-chewing hard man in a sheepskin coat.
      • If he played on the right he came up against notorious hard man Tommy Banks.
      • Too many times midfielders, the ultimate hard men on the pitch, were knocked off the ball.
      • We have hard men on our team who will always go for the ball.
      • As I was serving the buffet the midfield hard man asked me to put Ceefax on the telly so he could see what the Scotland score was.
      • He's a hard man, unafraid of any opposition, and he gets other people working well and riled up.
      • He's obviously no pushover, but I think he probably needs someone to be the hard man at his side.
      • He also recently traded in his harmonica for a role as a hard man in a television drama.
      • This one-time military hard man has, he admits, grown attached to his home comforts.
      • She is forced to be hard and stick to her decisions, but she is always fair.
      • Three nights in Florence and I'd become a softy and I was scared of these Southern hard men.
      • Many a coach must have asked their resident hard man to successfully confront Johnson, but none have managed it.
      • They elected the hard man, the sheriff who would give them the best protection.
      • If you look at the nature of people involved in gangs in Scotland, a lot of them would be regarded as being very hard people.
      • What a pity it would be if the Australian debacle was to bring the hard man back to centre stage again.
      • Just a sniff of weakness and these hard men will grab the opportunity with both hands.
      • He was a member of the Cadet Force and rose to the rank of sergeant with a reputation as being a hard man.
    2. 1.2 (of prices of stock, commodities, etc.) stable or firm in value.
      （股票价格，商品价格）稳健的
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Examples of hard commodities include platinum, copper and oil.
      • In uncertain times, investors usually prefer the certainty of hard money.
      • Since nearly 70% of hard stock is tightly held and not available for sale at the moment, that leaves a very small number of hard shares available.
      • It is a company built on hard assets.

  • 2Done with a great deal of force or strength.

    猛烈的，沉重的

    a hard blow to the head
    Example sentencesExamples
    • Daryl immediately released her and stepped back like he had received a hard blow in the chest.
    • Danny had forced a hard kiss onto her roughly and now, he was standing there shocked.
    • The police asked me if the child had fallen or received a hard blow to the injured area of her head.
    • Not once did the woman utter a sound, any cry of pain, she simply stood there, flinching when a hard blow came down on her.
    • Josh ran over to Alex who had just given me a really hard blow to the cheek bone.
    • I had grown angry and pursued him in a fit of fury when he had rejoined his family and given him a hard blow to his head, that is for a two year old.
    • As he was doing so he felt a hard blow to the side of his face and then another to the top of his head, he told the court.
    • The attack involved several hard blows to the side of the head and being punched in the face, according to Mr Dixon.
    • Buddy cuffed Roy on the head, slapped a small shovel in his hands, and gave him a hard shove.
    • We chose to sit on a comfortable settee rather than on hard chairs or impractical looking stools.
    • He reached for the knife from his father's wooden box and struck two hard blows into his stomach.
    • He gave Tyler a rather hard slap on the back that made him nearly fall over the counter.
    • Ichiru choked for a second, and Watz gave him a hard whack on his back before it would go down.
    • It then made several very long hard runs forcing me to give line and then play it back.
    • He said softly while he caressed the side of my face that was still hurting from his hard blow.
    • If he does anything tricky just give him a good hard whack with these here gauntlets.
    • The next hard blow to the head could be fatal, they said, and he must not fight again.
    • He had reluctantly left, returned and then hit Mohammed Akbar a hard blow on the head with a baseball bat.
    Synonyms
    forceful, heavy, strong, sharp, smart, violent, powerful, vigorous, mighty, hefty, tremendous

  • 3Requiring a great deal of endurance or effort.

    难以忍受的；困苦的

    stooping over all day was hard work
    Example sentencesExamples
    • I find this very hard to answer and the reason is that almost anything is possible now.
    • I think if someone has never experienced depression or that depth of emotional despair it can be hard to comprehend.
    • However, all the hard work is still to come when we fully open to the public.
    • Sorting out serious debt can be a long hard slog and their support is often invaluable.
    • Quite what effect his outbursts are having on his daughter is hard to imagine.
    • Searching for new wrecks requires patience and sometimes hard choices.
    • In order to be successful with your career or your hobby, you have to put a lot of effort and hard work into it.
    • It is not only hard physical work that makes people exhausted, stress has a similar effect.
    • A team-builder, he has a huge appetite for hard work, but can always break off for a laugh or a joke
    • It's a body of thinking and writing whose limits are exceedingly hard to define.
    • Now that the damage is setting in, she tires easily and finds it hard to fight off common infections.
    • She still found it hard to believe that he had survived the fire with just a small amount of injuries.
    • She also said the uncertainty of the past week had been very hard to deal with.
    • So looking at the big picture, it is hard to see why prices should rise at all.
    • It was hard to resist the temptation to eat the oranges as fast as we picked them.
    • To be a successful President is hard enough without having to spend the majority of the year playing catch up.
    • It takes determination, overtime and hard graft, but there is nothing like starting your own business.
    • Looking at Julia as she cuddles her beautiful young daughter, it's hard to believe how different life used to be.
    • People say that it takes ten years of hard study to prepare for a career and love.
    • The planting involved a great deal of hard work from our volunteers.
    Synonyms
    arduous, strenuous, tiring, fatiguing, exhausting, wearying, back-breaking, gruelling, heavy, laborious
    difficult, puzzling, perplexing, baffling, bewildering, mystifying, knotty, thorny, ticklish, problematic, enigmatic, complicated, complex, intricate, involved, tangled, insoluble, unfathomable, impenetrable, incomprehensible, unanswerable
    1. 3.1 Putting a lot of energy into an activity.
      努力的
      he'd been a hard worker all his life

      他一辈子努力工作。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Gritting teams were hard at work today clearing routes but some councils were accused of leaving it too late.
      • By the time they got back round the harbour, three men were already hard at work.
      • A woodpecker had himself a nice fat acorn, and he was hard at work to crack it open.
      • We're hard at work on a new show for White Cube, run by the lovely Jay Jopling.
      • Hermance was a strong willed person and a hard worker with good organizational skills.
      • They were hard at work heading over the cruelly steep hill that would take them into Denholme then home.
      • Lekota said the government and the defence force were hard at work to reduce the infection rate.
      • That is why scientists in York are hard at work on developing a new type of packaging that can be composted.
      • The Berkeley team and others are now hard at work looking at the chemistry of elements 107 and above.
      Synonyms
      diligent, hard-working, industrious, sedulous, assiduous, conscientious, energetic, keen, enthusiastic, zealous, earnest, persevering, persistent, unflagging, untiring, indefatigable
    2. 3.2 Difficult to bear; causing suffering.
      难以承受的；艰苦的
      times were hard at the end of the war

      战争结束后生活十分艰苦。

      he'd had a hard life

      他一生艰辛。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • No doubt the ban has been a hard blow to some parts of the hospitality industry.
      • Talya was the most vulnerable and she had a very hard time. She bore the brunt of her mum's anger.
      • Sinatra was born into hard times, the son of Italian immigrants, in Hoboken, New Jersey.
      • The lifestyle of peasants in Medieval England was extremely hard and harsh.
      • It is her ability to deal with the hard times that her son-in-law so admires.
      • The club is hoping for a better second half to the season but life is hard because of the financial restraints.
      • Although conditions were hard the system was well established and functioned for years.
      • Even reproducing artists are beginning to sense the hard times ahead.
      • So it's up to you to show that a squirrel knows about winter, and hard times ahead, when it buries nuts.
      • Some time later he experienced hard times and was forced to sell some of his land.
      • David Frederick was the big brother I never got as a kid, and so losing him was a hard blow.
      • Relaxation helps you to build energy that can be called upon to get you through hard times.
      • It's great for Roger because he's had a hard time since he suffered a horrendous injury last season.
      • But they hope to supplement their income with winnings when times are hard, too.
      • It is a very hard and difficult life when a child in the family is autistic.
      • And going to jail this time I had a really hard time, I've been to jail a few times but this last time was bad.
      • They were on the whole extremely sympathetic to the hard lives which most of their readers led.
      • This is a very hard blow to take, as you can imagine, but in the police service one has to expect the unexpected.
      • People were having hard times, relationship difficulties, and it does rub off on you.
      • I have the greatest sympathy with those on hard times as I have experienced that myself.
      • He had a very hard life, did all the difficult jobs working-class men do.
      • She had endured an extremely hard life.
      • They have worked in hard conditions with poor weather and yet they have done wonderful work.
      Synonyms
      harsh, grim, difficult, bad, bleak, dire, tough, austere, unpleasant, disagreeable, uncomfortable, intolerable, unendurable, unbearable, insupportable
    3. 3.3 Difficult to understand or solve.
      难懂的；难解的
      this is a really hard question

      这真是个令人费解的问题。

      with infinitive she found it hard to believe that he could be involved

      她感到很难相信他会卷入其中。

    4. 3.4 Not showing sympathy or affection; strict.
      冷酷无情的；严格的
      my father is no longer the hard man he once was
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Taylor considers himself to be something of a hard taskmaster but he has been delighted with the response of his players.
      • He seemed a hard taskmaster, but he did it all for what he saw to be the ultimate good.
      • Gilbert is a hard taskmaster, but Murray certainly knew that before they got together.
      • Many liken him to a stern Victorian mill owner but there is a soft centre lurking within the hard exterior.
      • He is said by colleagues to be a hard taskmaster who does not tolerate failure.
      • He has been portrayed in some quarters as a hard taskmaster who doesn't suffer fools gladly.
      • Not only is it a hard taskmaster, insatiable in the demands it makes on its followers, it often saves the best till last.
      • She snatched the boy by his collar on his tunic, and half-dragged him the rest of the way up the hill, her face hard.
      • His voice was hard and harsh, strict and stern.
      Synonyms
      strict, harsh, firm, severe, stern, tough, rigorous, demanding, exacting, unkind, unfriendly, unsympathetic, cold, heartless, hard-hearted, cold-hearted, unfeeling, intransigent, unbending, uncompromising, inflexible, intolerant, implacable, stubborn, obdurate, unyielding, unrelenting, unsparing, lacking compassion, grim, ruthless, merciless, oppressive, tyrannical, pitiless, callous, cruel, vicious, unjust, unfair
    5. 3.5 (of a season or the weather) severe.
      （季节，天气）严酷的；凛冽的
      it's been a long, hard winter

      这是个漫长而严酷的冬天。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • It is a time characterised by a lack of vitamins in the human body after a hard winter.
      • If the rains are too hard, young plants and seedlings can be washed away.
      • Certainly the winters can be hard - but by all accounts not as bad as in the old days!
      • During the first hard winters, the more delicate settlers had a smaller chance of staying alive.
      • In times gone by, a big year for berries was regarded as an indicator of a hard winter ahead but this it is not always the case.
      • But there are two things that should be pointed out to those who really know about hard winters.
      • It could be a long, hard winter for people who rely on home heating oil to stay warm.
      • Those words may have to console the goalkeeper through a long, hard winter.
      • After a very hard winter with huge amounts of snow the season had been expected to get under way later than usual.
      • Eiswein is made from grapes left on the vines until the first hard frost of winter.
      • If the concrete has not set and the rain is hard or the slope is steep, nobody will be happy.
      • They say the crows nested twice this year as there will be no food to feed the young next spring due to the hard weather.
      • That's far too organised and impractical for us, though, as we have a long hard winter to get through.
      • Two rhododendrons were about to bloom in the governor's garden, which looked as if it had survived a hard winter.
      • This can mean the difference between life and death during a hard winter.
      • They grow big and can often be caught in all weathers, even in hard winter conditions.
      • All the bees had died and I had to build it up from scratch from one queen that survived a hard winter.
      • I could hear debris hitting the house and the rain was so hard I was sure we were in for a flood.
      • Experts at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh had been fearing a hard winter.
      • A hard rain while the vines are flowering will knock the blooms off the plant and reduce the size of the crop.
      Synonyms
      bitterly cold, cold, bitter, harsh, severe, extreme, bleak, freezing, icy, icy-cold, arctic, polar, siberian, glacial
    6. 3.6 Harsh or unpleasant to the senses.
      （感觉上）难受的；刺目的；刺耳的；令人不快的
      the hard light of morning

      上午刺目的强光。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • The house is cold and the car is cold and everything is cold, bright, hard and vacant.
      • Then there you are in the broken temple on top, in the hard sunshine, looking down on the world.
      • The church basement is cold and hard morning light breaks through high windows.
      • We drive for a while and suddenly there is a loud, hard noise, and people run in all directions.
      • Looking out over this parched, shimmering landscape in the cold hard light of morning it's a miracle that anything survives here at all.
      Synonyms
      harsh, grim, difficult, bad, bleak, dire, tough, austere, unpleasant, disagreeable, uncomfortable, intolerable, unendurable, unbearable, insupportable
    7. 3.7 (of wine) harsh or sharp to the taste, especially because of tannin.
      （尤指葡萄酒因含有单宁酸而）苦涩的；烈的
      Example sentencesExamples
      • If your wine is too hard, too tannic, too acidic, snap the pouring unit onto your bottle, pour the wine through it, and it will be altered into a better state by the magnets inside.
      • Too much tannin and the wine is hard and earthy.
      • A hard wine has not aged enough to achieve a proper balance.

  • 4(of information) reliable, especially because based on something true or substantiated.

    （信息，资料）可靠的；确凿无疑的；真实的

    hard facts about the underclass are maddeningly elusive

    有关下层阶级的真实情况令人恼火地难以捉摸。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • There were constant rumours of further waves but there was no hard information as we had no radio or TV.
    • The kinds of stories that go on the front page of newspapers are hard news.
    • It is only a failure if we think that individuals should be detained on mere assertions and not on hard proof.
    • But there is no hard evidence that he ever met Richard, let alone searched for him across Europe.
    • I, for one, would need a lot more hard information before I could make my mind up about it.
    • The officer added that it was difficult for the police to name suspects now due to lack of hard evidence.
    • I think the time has come to stop playing around and to seek out some hard information.
    • You couldn't actually put any real hard facts in this article could you?
    • They realised we had hard evidence on what was happening and they promised to cooperate.
    • Of course, the papers were rife with opinion and speculation but cold hard facts were thin on the ground.
    • We pointed out that this did not amount to hard evidence and that there could be other explanations for what we saw.
    • When and how will they begin to retract their unambiguous presentation of the story as hard news?
    • But there appears to be little hard evidence of pupils failing to turn up for the second paper.
    • Yet today those interest rate cuts were interpreted as hard proof that things must be bad.
    • He urged investors to make their decisions based on hard information and not rumors.
    • But you really need to have hard proof of some sort if you wanted those theories to stick.
    • Nevertheless, hard proof that he ordered the hijackings may never come to light.
    • It takes a special kind of mindset to be this delusional in the face of cold, hard facts.
    • They both treated it in a clinical way, making sure to get the cold, hard facts reported.
    • There is also no hard evidence to suggest that the UK economy will suffer because of a future skills shortage.
    Synonyms
    reliable, definite, true, actual, confirmed, undeniable, indisputable, unquestionable, verifiable
    1. 4.1 (of a subject of study) dealing with precise and verifiable facts.
      （学科）实证的，硬的
      efforts to turn psychology into hard science

      把心理学变成硬科学的努力。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • There remains a common criticism that economics lacks the rigor to classify it as a hard science.
      • The hard sciences, for example, are at the cutting edge of economic development.
      • With so little good hard science on the BBC it's a pity to see a good chunk of the budget go on something so lightweight.
      • This makes him sound like Borges or Calvino, and in a sense he is, but with hard science to back him up.
      • But how far should we go to smuggle hard subjects into the minds of disaffected youth?
    2. 4.2 Denoting an extreme or dogmatic faction within a political party.
      （政党内部派别）极端的；固执己见的
      the hard left

      极左派。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • There are local Liberals who say her own hard right faction was to blame.
      • Independents can be of the anti-war left, but others come from the populist hard right.
      • Immediately after the armistice was signed an election in Paris returned a hard right government.
      • Thankfully, the moderate wing of the party split from the hard left and the Falklands War took care of the rest.
      • He declares that he does not want to interpret her international activities within a hard left framework.
    3. 4.3 (of science fiction) dealing with technological advances which do not contravene currently accepted scientific laws or principles.
      a hard SF novel

      硬科幻小说。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • He has crafted more realistic versions of the cast that are much more appropriate for the series' hard sci-fi background.
      • This isn't a movie for fans of hard science fiction.
      • I do read a lot of sci-fi novels. There are two types: hard sci-fi and soft sci-fi.
      • The great exponents of hard SF in its heyday of the 1950s were Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke.
      • My scientific background consists of a few relevant Carl Sagan books and hard sci-fi novels.

  • 5(of liquor) strongly alcoholic; denoting distilled spirits rather than beer or wine.

    （烈性酒）烈性强的，度数高的（指烈酒而非啤酒或葡萄酒）

    Example sentencesExamples
    • The forecast down Cancun way is positively sizzling and we have hard liquor and a Jacuzzi in our room, so the outlook is sunny.
    • I don't drink hard liquor anymore, it drives me insane with rage and I've ended up in jail too many times.
    • I try to stay away from hard liquor as I get started and don't know when to stop.
    • Instead of hard spirits he was going to be downing shot glasses full of beer.
    • Beer is consumed as a typical light alcoholic beverage, while rum is the hard liquor of choice.
    • She prepares a cup with far more hard liquor than punch and returns to Frank's side.
    • There are eight others, passing around a bottle of hard liquor.
    • You can mix wine with beer and beer with hard liquor but not wine with hard liquor.
    • You can't drown problems in hard alcohol.
    • This is by far the best method ever of guaranteeing you get hard liquor into pretty much any event.
    • Start guzzling hard liquor right off the bat and the binge is over before it started.
    • He offered it to her and when she took a swig the hard liquor burned down her throat.
    • My daughter is not used to hard drink.
    Synonyms
    alcoholic, strong, intoxicating, inebriating, stiff, potent, spirituous, vinous, intoxicant
    1. 5.1US (of apple cider) having alcoholic content from fermentation.
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Many of our English ancestors used apples extensively to make their favorite drink, hard apple cider.
      • Their product, hard cider, is also bottled and exported to other regions and abroad.
      • The bartender sends bottles of hard cider surfing along the top of the crowd to customers jammed into the doorway.
    2. 5.2 (of a drug) potent and addictive.
      （毒品）毒性强的；易上瘾的
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Every recreational hard drug conceivable is washed down with booze, both bought and stolen.
      • Large quantities of soft drugs and hard drugs were found in the car of the eldest brother.
      • We are also determined to break the link between crime and hard drugs.
      • I had a rough time and started drinking again; it wasn't long before I was back on hard drugs.
      • There is weight to the argument that cannabis use leads to a greater chance of becoming involved with hard drugs.
      • Would you want a violent criminal using hard drugs living next to you and your kids?
      • Police chiefs insist they are winning the war on hard drugs by concentrating on the upper end of the narcotics crime scale.
      • For me a drug is a drug, no matter what, and soft drugs lead on to hard drugs.
      • It is true that nearly all users of hard drugs have previously used cannabis.
      • We need a quantum leap in treatment and rehabilitation of young hard drug addicts.
      • The father-of-two, who had become involved with hard drugs, died from a gunshot wound to the chest.
      • The extra officers will mean a harder life for those who deal in heroin and other hard drugs, he said.
      • A year later she said she came under the influence of her old friends and started taking hard drugs again.
      • Lindsay recently admitted she would never try hard drugs after seeing how they affected her father.
      • A grandad has claimed he has been labelled a dealer in hard drugs by a police leaflet campaign.
      • A main reason for the change is that it is hoped it will free up police to concentrate on hard drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine.
      • There is fear its use will spread among the thousands of hard drug addicts in Dublin.
      • The court heard that he threw the stash of hard drugs out of the window when police called at the home of a friend on the Pewsham Estate.
      • We know that many of those addicted to hard drugs commit a large proportion of property crime.
      • Think of the resources that could instead go into reducing the use and distribution of hard drugs.
      Synonyms
      addictive, habit-forming, causing dependency
    3. 5.3 (of radiation) highly penetrating.
      （辐射）穿透力强的
      Example sentencesExamples
      • I would think you'd need hard radiation to initiate the cascade, but that the decay product would be softer.
      • There's no air, there's hard radiation, there's poison in the ground below you and of course, it's between 100 and 150 degrees below in centigrade.
      • While travelling through a medium, hard radiation produces charged particles.
    4. 5.4 (of pornography) highly obscene and explicit.
      （色情作品）淫秽的；极黄色的
      Example sentencesExamples
      • The film was never shown in Britain, where hard pornography was banned in cinemas, though plenty of people saw it on pirate videos at home.
      • There is a hard porn channel on the TV in the communal area of the hotel.
      • Like other addictions, addiction to pornography reaches a point when even ‘hard’ pornography is not enough to produce the excitement the addict wants.

  • 6(of water) containing relatively high concentrations of dissolved calcium and magnesium salts, which make lathering difficult.

    hard water requires much more soap, shampoo, or detergent than soft water
    Example sentencesExamples
    • The dissolved salts in hard water have a similar effect, so soft water is advised.
    • However, the water was so hard that it could be used only for washing and cleaning purposes.
    • Hard water is not a health hazard, but dealing with hard water in the home can be a nuisance.
    • I live in a hard water area and am concerned about the build-up of scale in the central heating system.
    • Moving from house to house to house, from area to area, I noticed how hard water and soft water affect the skin on my face.

  • 7(of the penis, clitoris, or nipples) erect.

    1. 7.1 (of a man) having an erect penis.

  • 8Phonetics
    (of a consonant) pronounced as c in cat or g in go.

    （辅音）软腭爆破音（如cat中的c，go中的g）

    Example sentencesExamples
    • Even their name has no hard consonant sounds.
    • The shorter word with a hard consonant at it's face seemed most fitting.
    • Consonants are hard unless they are followed by a soft vowel.
    • Have you ever noticed how all the truly bigoted expressions are blessed with hard consonants?
    • Of course I knew the title of the anthem, but I have never been able to pronounce it: too many hard consonants in succession for my Latin vocal cords.
adverbhɑrdhärd

  • 1With a great deal of effort.

    猛烈的，沉重的

    they work hard at school

    他们在学校努力学习。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • He concentrated on his studies and worked hard because he wanted to get a good job.
    • Though working hard for the police force, Allison also found the time to give back to the community in her spare moments.
    • But they are all working very hard in the gym.
    • Laura fought hard to breathe deeply and not panic.
    • My sister is studying very hard, but still has not passed her university entrance exams.
    • Basically back then, all I really needed to do was study hard and ensure that I got good grades.
    • He's been training so hard and we're all really proud of the effort he's making.
    • Every activist should fight hard to build the biggest possible vote against the deal.
    • Half of the peasants were forced to work hard and were charged with a variety of obligations.
    • The kids are putting in the effort, working hard, but are being short-changed.
    • The match was hard fought with chances being missed by both sides.
    • It's an event I would dearly love to win again and I'll be trying hard this time round.
    • I think that the committee worked very hard to put in a provision that was fair to everyone.
    • The teachers in this program are working hard to make sense of this mess, but the obstacles are great.
    • The city tries its best to be considerate to these students, who have studied hard for years.
    • With the election set to take place on Thursday of this week, Labour and the Lib Dems have been campaigning hard.
    • I've worked and studied hard for my success, and know what's it's like to live on meagre funds.
    • You might get an even lower price if you bargain hard or are staying for a while.
    • They worked hard all week and it was a great all-round team effort to win it.
    • The mayor also urged the children to study hard to prove that they deserved the scholarships.
    Synonyms
    diligently, industriously, assiduously, conscientiously, sedulously, busily, intensely, enthusiastically, energetically, earnestly, persistently, doggedly, steadily, indefatigably, untiringly, all out, with application, with perseverance
    with difficulty, with effort, after a struggle, painfully, arduously, laboriously
    1. 1.1 With a great deal of force; violently.
      猛烈的，沉重的
      it was raining hard

      雨下得很大。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • He hit the ground incredibly hard and shattered both his legs but was otherwise unharmed aside from some bruising.
      • Charlie tried to lift her head to look at the house but the wind was blowing too hard for her to do so.
      • I throw my right hand out instinctively and whack it hard against the side of the door.
      • I remember that, when the wind blew hard, it sounded almost as if somebody was crying.
      • Before he could react, she punched him hard in the stomach.
      • He hit Nicole so hard he fractured three ribs and ruptured her spleen.
      • The guard was hit so hard that the blow left a dent on his safety helmet.
      • Once I did recover I pulled back and slapped him hard across the face.
      • He quickly snatched the collar of Steven's shirt and shoved him hard against the wall.
      • The car hit the kerb so hard the wheels were ripped off and split in two.
      • Quickly I dropped to one knee and punched him hard in his chest before he could stand.
      • Instead Brian grabbed me by my shirt and shoved me hard against the wall.
      • The wind was blowing quite hard, but there wasn't any rain coming from the total cloud cover.
      • It started blowing really hard, so we had to suspend operations for the day.
      • My dad got up from his chair and slapped me hard across the face.
      • His intensity is really appreciable and he hits the ball extremely hard.
      • When the wind and rain blew hard they were forced to use all their strength just to keep from going overboard.
      • For the moment I had to content myself with hitting him quite hard with my tennis racquet.
      • The girl nodded at Simon and punched him so hard he was forced into one of the dirt walls.
      • It had been a glorious day, with the sun beating down hard and only a light wind on the loch.
      Synonyms
      forcefully, forcibly, fiercely, roughly, powerfully, strongly, strenuously, heavily, sharply, vigorously, intensely, energetically, with all one's might, with might and main, with vigour, with force, with great effort
      heavily, strongly, intensely, in torrents, in sheets, cats and dogs
      severely, badly, intensely, harshly, acutely, deeply, keenly, seriously, profoundly, violently, forcefully, grievously, gravely

  • 2So as to be solid or firm.

    变坚硬地

    the mortar has set hard

    灰泥已经变干硬了。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • Everything is frozen hard and the snow lies on the ground all the time.
    • This was a material that once it set hard would not soften under heat.
    • With the ground baked hard by the hot weather of the previous few days, there was nowhere for the water to go.
    • There have been nights where there was sweat on my towel which has frozen rock hard while I've been training.
    • He was lying on his back with the rope around his waist stretched tightly to where it disappeared into snow that was now set hard as concrete.

  • 3To the fullest extent possible.

    在最大程度上；满满地；完全的

    put the wheel hard over to starboard

    右满舵。

    Example sentencesExamples
    • It hit with a deafening roar, punching the ship sideways so violently that it rolled hard over to port.
    • Most drivers were taught to pump the brakes and turn hard to the right or left in order to compensate for skidding.
    • He heeled the car hard over to the right.
    Synonyms
    hard, as hard as possible, for all one's worth, vigorously, with a vengeance, to the utmost, to the full, to the limit, all out

Phrases

  • be hard on

    • 1Treat or criticize (someone) severely.

      严厉对待；苛待；苛责

      you're being too hard on her

      你对她太严厉了。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • It's always difficult to be hard on someone you love.
      • Critics have been hard on what they believe to be unnecessary extravagance during a time of war.
      • If it appears that I'm being hard on men, it is because I think I must.
      • I was very effeminate as a child and my mother was hard on me for it, which left me with scars that I'm still working through.
      • He was hard on Franka, harder on her than anyone he had ever instructed.
      • It was more difficult than before to be hard on her.
      • He was a severe looking man who was known to be hard on his students.
      • But Nolan says the critics have been hard on his fellow Liverpudlian.
      • He could be vile to his dancers and Sally was hard on me.
      • ‘As you progress,’ Jenas reflects, ‘you look back and see why people were hard on you.’

    • 2Be difficult for or unfair to.

      使受苦；对…不公平

      I think the war must have been hard on her

      我想战争一定使她吃了不少苦。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • You went through those couple of months that must have been hard on you and your family.
      • It must be hard on her, because, if I know her, she'll be feeling responsible for her actions.
      • It was hard on the kids because they like to spend time with Steve.
      • My mother was a teacher, so she basically had to redo her qualifications, and Dad did a lot of travelling, so it was hard on her.
      • Dealing with a troubled sibling is hard on the whole family.
      • ‘I'm concerned about being away from my family and it is hard on them.
      • For those of non-western cultures, the difficulty in getting a job is hard on them not only economically, but also psychologically.
      • It must have been hard on her to have to watch someone else doing her job and on top of that doing it badly, but she never said anything about it.
      • His mother died… that must have been hard on him.
      • That must have been hard on the daughter when the mother is with someone you hate.

    • 3Be likely to hurt or damage.

      对…有害

      the monitor flickers, which is hard on the eyes

      显示器闪烁不定，这对眼睛有害。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Hanging on to the vine was hard on the hands and often produced blisters, despite the fact that our hands were well hardened with farm work.
      • Several members had a go at plaiting straw with good results but said it was hard on the fingers.
      • Yet the work was hard on her hands, which bled regularly from cuts of the knives and grinder.
      • My family thinks that it is a good profession, but difficult, because it is hard on your body.
      • Flying is hard on your body and you have to make sure you're getting your rest, getting your fluids, and taking care of yourself.
      • It must have been hard on the hands. ‘Not really,’ says Brooks, ‘it was the changing gear that could hurt.’
      • Formic acid, for example, must be handled with care and can be hard on some equipment.
      • Now I've changed the colour scheme, since some people mentioned that a white-on-dark design was hard on their eyes.
      • Since the magazine steel is very hard, cutting was hard on tools until they found a shop that could do it with a laser.
      • Seaside salt wind is hard on its façades; its weather-beaten face is always in need of another coat of slap.

  • be hard put (to it)

    • usually with infinitiveFind it very difficult.

      觉得…很难；很难做到

      you'll be hard put to find a better compromise

      你很难找到比这更好的折中办法。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Adam was hard put to gain control of his horse and regroup the cattle before they scattered again.
      • He said: ‘I would be hard put to find anyone else equal to his incredible ability.’
      • But one would be hard put to find a single article on poverty or unemployment in mainstream Indian newspapers in the past decade or more.
      • If he means to stand, he would be hard put to find enough MPs to sign his card.
      • I think anyone, including myself, would be hard put to predict or even find a pattern.
      • Angry Christmas shoppers were hard put to find a space to park and ended up using every nook and cranny in the town centre to park their cars.
      • In the second world war, the shortage of paper meant that publishers were hard put to stay in business.
      • Children from a number of schools turned up in large numbers, and the volunteers were hard put to regulate the enthusiastic visitors.
      • You would, it's true, be hard put to find a half-decent politician who didn't think himself or herself the answer to the country's problems.
      • You'd be hard put to it to find more friendly and welcoming people anywhere.

  • give someone a hard time

    • informal Deliberately make a situation difficult for someone.

      〈非正式〉有意为难某人

      Example sentencesExamples
      • She treads a very fine line - the boss gives her a hard time and the boys give her a hard time, so she's sometimes in a no-win situation.
      • The boys are giving me a hard time about all the publicity I'm getting.
      • He's a giant of a man and if you don't concentrate against him, he can give you a hard time.
      • Meanwhile my son is giving me a hard time for supporting the Australian cricketers.
      • If the media's giving you a hard time, don't complain about it publicly.
      • He tells of one election meeting in Bristol on a steaming summer evening where one particular heckler was giving him a hard time.
      • Frank has been giving me a hard time for months about going to see her, because apparently every time he runs in to her she is just about in tears because I haven't visited.
      • They are people who do what is right when others give them a hard time for their beliefs.
      • When his turn comes, the workers will not give him a hard time or cause him trouble.
      • One of the guests began giving me a hard time about the shirt.
      Synonyms
      annoy, irritate, infuriate, anger, incense, inflame, enrage, irk, chagrin, exasperate, madden, pique, provoke, nettle, disturb, upset, perturb, discompose, put out

  • go hard with

    • dated Turn out to (someone's) disadvantage.

      〈旧〉对…不利

      it would go hard with the poor

      这会对穷人不利。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Cutting a helpless throat, even when it belonged to scum like this, went hard with him.
      • One of the two men had again prowled about the neighborhood and told him that unless he managed to get the boy away that night it would go hard with him.
      • One of the things that goes hard with Hetty in the trial is that she at first refuses to give her identity and obdurately denies that she ever had a baby, let alone killed it.
      • Should such a creature encounter a swimming man it would go hard with the man.
      • And if it goes hard with me, I will stand it, and I will cling to my logic, and I will bear it like a man.

  • hard and fast

    • (of a rule or a distinction made) fixed and definitive.

      （规则，差别）不可更动的；无法改变的

      it is impossible to lay down any hard and fast rules
      Example sentencesExamples
      • I don't think there should be any hard and fast rules about this issue.
      • If a child is bright they will learn quicker than another child but there are no hard and fast rules.
      • Yet that rule isn't always as hard and fast as it would seem and sometimes actually demands to be broken.
      • One of the few hard and fast rules of comedy is that puppets are always funny.
      • In the few days he had been in the country, he had learned some very hard and fast rules.
      • Readers are apt to assume a hard and fast distinction between novel and romance.
      • As far as age limits are concerned, there are no hard and fast rules.
      • The hours either side of dawn and dusk are generally the best, although this is not a hard and fast rule.
      • The programme is mainly aimed at secondary school students, but there are no hard and fast rules and a number of primaries also take part.
      • Like all rules governing taxation, the categories are never hard and fast.
      Synonyms
      definite, fixed, set, strict, rigid, binding, stringent, rigorous, clear-cut, cast-iron, established, inflexible, immutable, unalterable, invariable, unvarying, unchangeable, unchanging, incontestable, incontrovertible, uncompromising

  • hard at it

    • informal Busily working or occupied.

      〈非正式〉忙得不可开交

      they were hard at it with brooms and mops

      他们忙着用扫帚和拖把打扫卫生。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Having been hard at it all the morning trying to cram a day's work into a few hours, I decided that a cup of coffee would be a great pick me up.
      • The cast are hard at it with practising and preparation.
      • She's been hard at it since, working with Amnesty International and others to organise a public meeting.
      • On a sunlit morning, she is already hard at it in a corner of the old downtown premises of local fashion designer Tanya Carlson, where she's trying to finish up some work.
      • They were still hard at it when I finally realised that I was surplus to requirements.
      • We're hard at it, and we're making good progress.
      • By 2004 you will be hard at it on the seniors circuit, both in Europe and the US and will have lost a lot of contact with the players.
      • Just because I appear to be idle does not mean I am not hard at it.
      • He's been hard at it since March, and the results have been positive.
      • There are undoubtedly a few Irish players, not to mention the coach himself, who could do without this trip to South Africa given that they've been hard at it now for almost 12 months.
      Synonyms
      occupied, occupied in, engaged in, involved in, employed in, working at, labouring at, toiling at, slaving at, hard at work, hard at work on, wrapped up, wrapped up in, wrapped up with

  • hard by

    • Close to.

      靠近

      he lived hard by the cathedral

      他住的地方离大教堂很近。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • While I was there I went up around noon to a small church hard by the large harbour.
      • The balloting took place in Westminster's Church House, hard by the House of Commons.
      • Here's a picture of my sunny destination - Tavira, hard by the Spanish border.
      • The undertaking establishment was on the Brompton Road hard by the chapel and nearby Trevor Square.
      • We lived hard by the factory and our windows gave on the factory yard.
      Synonyms
      close to, right by, close by, beside, near, near to, nearby, not far from, a short distance from, a step away from, a stone's throw from, on the doorstep of, in the vicinity of, in the neighbourhood of, round the corner from, within easy reach of, adjacent to

  • hard done by

    • Harshly or unfairly treated.

      〈英〉被虐待；受到不公平对待

      she would be justified in feeling hard done by

      要是她觉得受到了虐待，这完全有道理。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Faced with the complex task of establishing which party is telling the truth, family court judges tend to defer to the mother, leaving fathers feeling hard done by and resentful.
      • Annie sees herself as permanently hard done by.
      • Some people are going to feel hard done by, and speaking to them, they have very convincing arguments.
      • I don't think Dad ever complained he'd been hard done by.
      • These articles paint a picture of a poor retired couple that have been very hard done by and are in need of protection from neighbours.
      • ‘I'm fed up feeling hard done by because we have only ourselves to blame,’ said Williamson.
      • Several other players can feel hard done by to not make the shortlist but, after such a fine team performance, picking three players out was a near-impossible task.
      • By all accounts, the Scotland squad is feeling a little hard done by, and to a certain extent, you can understand why.
      • He seems, most of the time, like a man born to be hard done by.
      • However, they still have cause to feel a little hard done by.

  • hard feelings

    • usually with negativeFeelings of resentment.

      怨恨

      there are no hard feelings and we wish him well

      我们一点也不怨恨，我们希望他好。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Sarah had firm ideas of what the garden should be like and challenged Matt over one or two of his ideas, forcing him to the return to the drawing board, but she insisted there were no hard feelings.
      • He returns to face them this afternoon with no hard feelings.
      • Then she winks to let me know there are no hard feelings.
      • He left them as politely as possible, and with no hard feelings.
      • He managed a weak smile before saying to her, ‘So no hard feelings about Sunday?’
      • He admitted he was disappointed to lose his place but insisted he had no hard feelings.
      • We don't have any hard feelings for you or to anyone in the world, we just want to live in peace.
      • Fortunately there are absolutely no hard feelings.
      • It was just a short letter telling me there were no hard feelings, that he had nothing against me off the field and that what happened on the field was one thing and what happened off it was another.
      • He had summoned my father to make peace, claiming through an intermediary that there were no hard feelings and that he didn't know what all the fuss was about.
      Synonyms
      resentment, animosity, ill feeling, ill feelings, ill will, bitterness, bad blood, resentfulness, rancour, malice, acrimony, antagonism, antipathy, animus, friction, anger, hostility, hate, hatred

  • hard going

    • Difficult to understand or enjoy.

      难懂的；难解的

      the studying is at times hard going

      研究有时是很困难的。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • It was a fairly unconventional film, and I think a number of people including myself found it pretty hard going.
      • The article is pretty hard going.
      • But no matter how much fun you try to make it, it can be hard going.
      • I wasn't sure what to expect of the classes, and unfortunately I'm finding them hard going.
      • We started watching the film but found it hard going because it was getting late and we were tired.
      • The statistics course is aimed at beginners, but I am finding it pretty hard going - and it is only day one.
      • It's hard going at first - the descriptions are dense, poetic word-paintings - but once you're engaged with the characters you'll be hooked.
      • The book runs to some 500 pages and I found it rather hard going.
      • It is hard going but it is something I will see through, even if it takes the rest of my life.
      • A hefty tome like Ulysses may appear at first to be hard going.

  • hard hit

    • Badly affected.

      受到严重影响，受到严重打击

      hard hit by falling oil prices

      特立尼达受到石油价格下跌的严重打击。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Food and drink, tourism and manufacturing have been particularly hard hit.
      • The tourism and entertainment industries have been hard hit by the falloff in air travel.
      • The cotton, tobacco and beef industries were particularly hard hit.
      • Small businesses are particularly hard hit because they cannot negotiate discounts like big companies.
      • Some have been hard hit by major retail and out-of-town superstores.
      • Millions of manufacturing jobs have been lost in this country but now the service industry is also being hard hit.
      • But York was hard hit by the floods of a year ago, and many small business are still struggling to recover.
      • The company had been hard hit by rising steel and oil costs, and was struggling to raise prices for its products.
      • Louisiana towns just east of the Texas border were particularly hard hit by the storm surges and flooding.
      • Agricultural land is being snapped up by investors, often wealthy farmers from the north of Ireland who have not been as hard hit by beef bans and food scares.

  • hard of hearing

    • Not able to hear well.

      听不清楚

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Over half of people aged over 60 are hard of hearing or deaf.
      • Helen has been a carer for her mum, who is hard of hearing and is severely disabled with arthritis, for the past 11 years.
      • Some of us are hard of hearing and could not hear the officer in the car going by.
      • Although suffering from failing eyesight and being a touch hard of hearing, the great grandmother has retained an acute memory of her childhood days.
      • He is hard of hearing and needs someone to translate his speech.
      • I think my ears are clogged up with wax, as I have been a bit hard of hearing lately.
      • He may be hard of hearing but his brain is as sharp as ever.
      • One of the twins was hard of hearing and the other could hear quite well.
      • Not all people who are hard of hearing read lips or use sign language.
      • Judges have ruled that he is hard of hearing rather than deaf, despite medical evidence proving he cannot hear anything.
      Synonyms
      hard of hearing, hearing-impaired, with impaired hearing, unhearing, stone deaf, deafened, profoundly deaf

  • hard on (or upon)

    • Close to; following soon after.

      紧跟着

      we followed hard on their tracks
      Example sentencesExamples
      • The move follows hard on the heels of an acquisition which has seen business gains in the west of Scotland.
      • The General Strike in England was in 1926, when Auden was nineteen, and it was followed hard upon by the Depression.
      • At any other time there would be a protracted period of recollection, but the election is hard upon us.
      • This announcement follows hard upon the October announcement of a restructuring plan.
      • On the field tragedy follows hard upon triumph, ease and discomfort sit side by side…
      • The trainer was philosophical about his victory coming hard on the heels of his loss.
      • Stacks of musty books were no substitute for the fresh, clean air of the season, but exams were hard upon us, and there was no time to stop and smell the flowers, not unless we scheduled it in between study sessions.
      • These excellent results are following hard on the heels of an impressive Oftsed report.
      Synonyms
      soon after, hard on the heels of, quickly after, promptly after, shortly after, immediately after, directly after, straight after, right after, a short time after, without delay after

  • hard up

    • informal Short of money.

      〈非正式〉没钱，手头紧

      I'm too hard up to buy fancy clothes

      我手头太紧，买不起漂亮的衣服。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • It really worries me when relatives buy you something even though you know they are hard up.
      • I think that's probably insulting to people who are genuinely really, really hard up.
      • I have always been keen to earn money, so while I couldn't say I have ever been really hard up, it's because I have worked to make sure I'm not.
      • And as unreliable as official statistics are, there can be no doubt that far too many people are hard up.
      • Thankfully, I've never been truly hard up, but some of the 1980s were a bit tough.
      • Don't use the excuse of being hard up as a reason for not doing it.
      • He could be very generous - lending money to hard up locals, or secretly dropping off a carton of groceries at someone's back door.
      • But, to be honest, I would have to say I've never been really hard up.
      • Virtually overnight, they were out of business and very, very hard up.
      • I was very hard up when I was at school and university.
      Synonyms
      poor, short of money, short of cash, impoverished, impecunious, in financial difficulties, financially embarrassed, financially distressed, in reduced circumstances, in straitened circumstances, unable to make ends meet

  • the hard way

    • Through suffering or learning from the unpleasant consequences of mistakes.

      来之不易

      his reputation was earned the hard way

      他的盛名来之不易。

      Example sentencesExamples
      • Victory will be earned the hard way, and in the end it may come down to the survival of the fittest.
      • I learned the hard way just how critically important it is to always wear a seat belt.
      • It was a gutsy display and the home side earned their three points the hard way.
      • During the last recession, however, everyone learned the hard way that prices could fall.
      • He learned the hard way when to take on the system and when to tolerate it.
      • It is good advice and given by people who have learned their lesson the hard way.
      • He was very clear in his views and showed that he had learnt the game the hard way.
      • It was a title he earned the hard way; in fact, nobody had to work harder to win a World title.
      • We learnt the hard way that being rude to colleagues is no way to behave.
      • But it's hard to see him working his way up the hard way, heading out for a council meeting on a scooter.

  • play hard to get

    • informal Deliberately adopt an aloof or uninterested attitude, typically in order to make oneself more attractive or interesting.

      〈非正式〉（为吸引对方而）故作冷漠；故作不感兴趣

      Example sentencesExamples
      • I bet you're one of those girls who plays hard to get.
      • In this love affair, like many others, playing hard to get can only make for a better relationship.
      • ‘He tried to talk to me for a while after we met, but I was playing hard to get,’ she said with a slight smile.
      • While I know logically that it's safest to play hard to get, to keep my heart locked away so that no one can hurt me, that's just not who I am.
      • They are playing hard to get with the media, and are keeping us all interested.
      • Julie was still playing hard to get and Bryce was too proud to admit that his girlfriend overpowered him.
      • Girls should have the confidence to play hard to get, to wait until they find a mate who matches their demands rather than giving in so easily.
      • What could be more perverse than playing hard to get when looking for the one we can really open up to?
      • Sometimes when dates played hard to get, it made the chase more interesting and the inevitable surrender more satisfying.
      • After months of being cautious and playing hard to get, I'm going to bravely risk rejection this time.

Origin

Old English hard, heard, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hard and German hart.

adj.1
phr.
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