Wiktionary

tough

English

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Etymology

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From Middle English tough, towgh, tou, toȝ, from Old English tōh (“tough, tenacious, holding fast together; pliant; sticky, glutinous, clammy”), from Proto-West Germanic *tą̄h(ī), from Proto-Germanic *tanhuz (“fitting; clinging; tenacious; tough”), from Proto-Indo-European *denḱ- (“to bite”).

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

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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tough (comparative tougher, superlative toughest)

  1. (of a material) Strong and resilient; sturdy.
    The tent, made of tough canvas, held up to many abuses.
  2. (of food) Difficult to cut or chew.
    To soften a tough cut of meat, the recipe suggested simmering it for hours.
  3. (of a person or animal) Rugged or physically hardy.
    Only a tough species will survive in the desert.
    • 2010, Brian Lovett, Hunting Tough Turkeys, Stackpole Books, page 3:
      But before you quit turkey hunting and take up model-train collecting, let me give you the good news: you can score on tough turkeys. In fact, you can kill the toughest turkey in the woods.
  4. (of a person) Stubborn or persistent; capable of stubbornness or persistence.
    He had a reputation as a tough negotiator.
  5. (of weather, etc.) Harsh or severe.
  6. Rowdy or rough.
    A bunch of the tough boys from the wrong side of the tracks threatened him.
  7. (of questions, etc.) Difficult or demanding.
    This is a tough crowd.
    • 1998, Lois Liederman Davitz, Joel Robert Davitz, 20 Tough Questions Teenagers Ask and 20 Tough Answers, Paulist Press, pages 6-7,
      But let's get back to the tough question about sex before marriage. And this is a tough question. In fact we would rank the question you've both raised as pretty high on our list of tough questions.
    • 2012, BioWare, Mass Effect 3 (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Earth:
      Anderson: We fought hard to get here. But now the toughest part of our mission begins.
      Anderson: We've got to drive right through the heart of Reaper-controlled territory, break past their defenses, and get to that beacon.
    • 2010, Rushworth M. Kidder, Good Kids, Tough Choices, Wiley (Jossey-Bass), page 96,
      What Lara faced, in fact, falls right into the pool of light beneath our second lens: making tough choices.
  8. (material science) Undergoing plastic deformation before breaking.
  9. Strict, not lenient.
    tough on crime

Derived terms

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Terms derived from tough (adjective)

Descendants

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  • → German: taff
  • → Swedish: tuff

Translations

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Interjection

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tough

  1. (slang) Used to indicate lack of sympathy
    If you don't like it, tough!

Translations

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Noun

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tough (plural toughs)

  1. A person who obtains things by force; a thug or bully.
    They were doing fine until they encountered a bunch of toughs from the opposition.
    • 2018, Sandeep Jauhar, Heart: a History, →ISBN, page 54:
      He was in his early fifties, extensively tattooed, just the sort of tough I wouldn't want to meet alone in a parking lot at night, but right then he was whimpering.

Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked

Verb

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

  1. To endure.
    • 2009, Paul Walsh, You and I and Others, →ISBN, pages 64 - 65:
      We shall reminisce on how we toughed it through the winters as they reached the firm, long arm around to give the cold embrace, with ardor seldom loosed till warm winds Marched or Apriled in to soften winter's knuckles -- send rivulets of courage down to dandelions and tulips.
    • 2011, Henry David Thoreau, Damion Searls, The Journal of Henry David Thoreau, 1837-1861, →ISBN, page 254:
      “No,” said Minott, “I've toughed it through the winter, and i want to stay and hear the bluebirds once more.
    • 2012, Jerry Hopkins -, Extreme Cuisine: The Weird and Wonderful Foods That People Eat, →ISBN:
      Universal Plant Edibility Test The following sounds like a lot of work—it is!—but that's because it comes from the US Army Survival Manual as republished in 1994 as "a civilian's best guide for toughing it, anyplace in the world...a must for campers, hikers, explorers, pilots, and others whose vocation or avocations require familiarity with the wilderness or out-of-doors..."
  2. To toughen.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Anagrams

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German

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English tough; see also German taff.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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

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

Declension

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Positive forms of tough
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist tough sie ist tough es ist tough sie sind tough
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative tougher toughe toughes toughe
genitive toughen tougher toughen tougher
dative toughem tougher toughem toughen
accusative toughen toughe toughes toughe
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der toughe die toughe das toughe die toughen
genitive des toughen der toughen des toughen der toughen
dative dem toughen der toughen dem toughen den toughen
accusative den toughen die toughe das toughe die toughen
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein tougher eine toughe ein toughes (keine) toughen
genitive eines toughen einer toughen eines toughen (keiner) toughen
dative einem toughen einer toughen einem toughen (keinen) toughen
accusative einen toughen eine toughe ein toughes (keine) toughen
Comparative forms of tough
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist tougher sie ist tougher es ist tougher sie sind tougher
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative tougherer toughere tougheres toughere
genitive tougheren tougherer tougheren tougherer
dative tougherem tougherer tougherem tougheren
accusative tougheren toughere tougheres toughere
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der toughere die toughere das toughere die tougheren
genitive des tougheren der tougheren des tougheren der tougheren
dative dem tougheren der tougheren dem tougheren den tougheren
accusative den tougheren die toughere das toughere die tougheren
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein tougherer eine toughere ein tougheres (keine) tougheren
genitive eines tougheren einer tougheren eines tougheren (keiner) tougheren
dative einem tougheren einer tougheren einem tougheren (keinen) tougheren
accusative einen tougheren eine toughere ein tougheres (keine) tougheren
Superlative forms of tough
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter
predicative er ist am toughsten
er ist am toughesten 		sie ist am toughsten
sie ist am toughesten 		es ist am toughsten
es ist am toughesten 		sie sind am toughsten
sie sind am toughesten
strong declension
(without article) 		nominative toughster
toughester 		toughste
tougheste 		toughstes
toughestes 		toughste
tougheste
genitive toughsten
toughesten 		toughster
toughester 		toughsten
toughesten 		toughster
toughester
dative toughstem
toughestem 		toughster
toughester 		toughstem
toughestem 		toughsten
toughesten
accusative toughsten
toughesten 		toughste
tougheste 		toughstes
toughestes 		toughste
tougheste
weak declension
(with definite article) 		nominative der toughste
der tougheste 		die toughste
die tougheste 		das toughste
das tougheste 		die toughsten
die toughesten
genitive des toughsten
des toughesten 		der toughsten
der toughesten 		des toughsten
des toughesten 		der toughsten
der toughesten
dative dem toughsten
dem toughesten 		der toughsten
der toughesten 		dem toughsten
dem toughesten 		den toughsten
den toughesten
accusative den toughsten
den toughesten 		die toughste
die tougheste 		das toughste
das tougheste 		die toughsten
die toughesten
mixed declension
(with indefinite article) 		nominative ein toughster
ein toughester 		eine toughste
eine tougheste 		ein toughstes
ein toughestes 		(keine) toughsten
(keine) toughesten
genitive eines toughsten
eines toughesten 		einer toughsten
einer toughesten 		eines toughsten
eines toughesten 		(keiner) toughsten
(keiner) toughesten
dative einem toughsten
einem toughesten 		einer toughsten
einer toughesten 		einem toughsten
einem toughesten 		(keinen) toughsten
(keinen) toughesten
accusative einen toughsten
einen toughesten 		eine toughste
eine tougheste 		ein toughstes
ein toughestes 		(keine) toughsten
(keine) toughesten

Further reading

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

Middle English

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Noun

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tough

  1. Alternative form of tow
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