Tra từ hard - Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

hard [hard hards harder hardest] adjective, adverb BrE [hɑːd] NAmE [hɑːrd]
adjective (hard·er, hard·est)

SOLID/STIFF
1. solid, firm or stiff and difficult to bend or break
• Wait for the concrete to go hard.
•a hard mattress
• Diamonds are the hardest known mineral.
Opp: ↑soft

DIFFICULT
2. difficult to do, understand or answer
•a hard choice/question
•~ to do sth It is hard to believe that she's only nine.
• It's hard to see how they can lose.
•‘When will the job be finished?’ ‘It's hard to say.’ (= it is difficult to be certain)
•I find his attitude very hard to take (= difficult to accept).
•We're finding reliable staff hard to come by (= difficult to get).
•You are hard to please, aren't you?
•~ for sb (to do sth) It's hard for old people to change their ways.
•It must be hard for her, bringing up four children on her own.
Opp: ↑easy
3. full of difficulty and problems, especially because of a lack of money
Syn: ↑tough
• Times were hard at the end of the war.
• She's had a hard life.
Opp: ↑easy

NEEDING/USING EFFORT
4. needing or using a lot of physical strength or mental effort
• It's hard work shovelling snow.
• I've had a long hard day.
•This season has been a hard slog.
•They had put in hours of hard graft.
5. (of people)putting a lot of effort or energy into an activity
• She's a very hard worker.
• He's hard at work on a new novel.
•When I left they were all still hard at it (= working hard).
6. done with a lot of strength or force
• He gave the door a good hard kick.
•a hard punch

WITHOUT SYMPATHY
7. showing no sympathy or affection
• My father was a hard man.
• She gave me a hard stare.
•His voice was hard.
•He said some very hard things to me.

NOT AFRAID
8. (informal) (of people)ready to fight and showing no signs of fear or weakness
•Come and get me if you think you're hard enough.
•You think you're really hard, don't you?

FACTS/EVIDENCE
9. only before noun definitely true and based on information that can be proved
•Is there any hard evidence either way?
•The newspaper story is based on hard facts.

WEATHER
10. very cold and severe
•It had been a hard winter.
•There was a hard frost that night.
compare ↑mild

DRINK
11. only before noun strongly alcoholic
•hard liquor
• (informal)a drop of the hard stuff (= a strong alcoholic drink)
compare ↑soft drink

WATER
12. containing ↑calcium and other mineral salts that make mixing with soap difficult
•a hard water area
•Our water is very hard.
Opp: ↑soft

CONSONANTS
13. (phonetics)used to describe a letter c or g when pronounced as in ‘cat’ or ‘go’, rather than as in ‘city’ or ‘giant’
Opp: ↑soft
more at a hard/tough act to follow at ↑act _n., have a (hard/difficult) job doing/to do sth at ↑job, take a long (cool/hard) look at sth at ↑long _adj., a hard/tough nut (to crack) at ↑nut _n., (caught/stuck) between a rock and a hard place at ↑rock _n.

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

Thesaurus:
hard adj.
1.
•Wait for the concrete to go hard.
solid • • rigid • • stiff • |approving firm •
Opp: soft
a hard/solid/firm surface
hard/firm ground
go hard/stiff
Hard or firm? Hard things are harder than firm things. Hard can mean ‘very hard’ or ‘too hard’
•Diamonds are the hardest known mineral.
• The mattress was really hard.
Firm is always a positive word
•I sleep better with a firm mattress.
2.
•He found it hard to learn a foreign language.
difficult • • demanding • • taxing • • testing • |approving challenging •
Opp: easy
hard/difficult/demanding/taxing/challenging for sb
hard/difficult to believe/see/tell/say/do sth
a hard/difficult/demanding/taxing/testing/challenging time/week/year
Hard or difficult? Hard is slightly more informal than difficult. It is used especially in the structure hard to believe/say/find/take, etc., although difficult can also be used in any of these examples.
3.
•My grandmother had a hard life.
difficult • • tough • • bad • • rough • • adverse • |BrE unfavourable • |AmE unfavorable • |formal disadvantageous •
Opp: easy
hard/difficult/tough/bad/unfavourable/disadvantageous for sb
hard/tough/rough on sb
a/an hard/difficult/tough/bad/rough/unfavourable situation
hard/difficult/tough/bad/rough/adverse/unfavourable conditions
4.
•It's hard work shovelling snow.
strenuous • • arduous • • punishing • |especially BrE gruelling • |AmE usually grueling •
Opp: easy
hard/strenuous/arduous/gruelling work
a/an hard/strenuous/arduous climb
a hard/punishing/gruelling schedule
a hard/gruelling day
5. (usually disapproving)
•She gave me a hard stare.
•My father was a hard man.
tough • • stern • • strict • |usually disapproving harsh • • brutal • |disapproving callous • • heartless • • ruthless • • cold-blooded • • unforgiving • |especially written severe • • steely •
Opp: soft
be hard/tough/strict/harsh/severe on sb
a hard/tough/stern/strict/callous/heartless/ruthless man/woman
sb has a hard/tough/harsh/brutal/ruthless side

Synonyms:
difficult
hard • challenging • demanding • taxing
These words all describe sth that is not easy and requires a lot of effort or skill to do.
difficult • not easy; needing effort or skill to do or understand: ▪ The exam questions were quite difficult. ◇ ▪ It is difficult for young people to find jobs around here.
hard • not easy; needing effort or skill to do or understand: ▪ I always found languages quite hard at school. ◇ ▪ It was one of the hardest things I ever did.
difficult or hard?
Hard is slightly less formal than difficult. It is used particularly in the structure hard to believe/say/find/take, etc., although difficult can also be used in any of these examples.
challenging • (approving) difficult in an interesting way that tests your ability.
demanding • difficult to do or deal with and needing a lot of effort, skill or patience: ▪ It is a technically demanding piece of music to play.
taxing • (often used in negative statements) difficult to do and needing a lot of mental or physical effort: ▪ This shouldn't be too taxing for you.
difficult/hard/challenging/demanding/taxing for sb
difficult/hard to do sth
physically difficult/hard/challenging/demanding/taxing
technically difficult/challenging/demanding
mentally/intellectually challenging/demanding/taxing

Which Word?:
hard / hardly
The adverb from the adjective hard is hard: ▪ I have to work hard today. ◇ ▪ She has thought very hard about her future plans. ◇ ▪ It was raining hard outside.
Hardly is an adverb meaning ‘almost not’: ▪ I hardly ever go to concerts. ◇ ▪ I can hardly wait for my birthday. It cannot be used instead of hard: I’ve been working hardly today. ◇ She has thought very hardly about her future plans. ◇ It was raining hardly outside.
note at ↑hardly

Example Bank:
•I found the exam quite hard.
•If you tell the children the answers, it only makes it harder for them to do the work on their own.
•Life got very hard.
•The chairs felt hard and uncomfortable.
•The toffee was rock hard.
•‘When will the job be finished?’ ‘It's hard to say.’
•Conditions were extremely hard in the camps.
•He's as hard and uncompromising as any professional sportsman.
•I always found languages quite hard at school.
•I find his attitude quite hard to take.
•I've had a long hard day.
•It can be very hard for people to accept change.
•It was one of the hardest things I ever did.
•It's hard to believe she's only nine years old.
•It's hard work shovelling snow.
•My grandmother had a hard life.
•Some viruses can be harder to identify.
•The ground is still rock-hard.
•The newspaper story is based on hard facts.
•The reason for their absence wasn't hard to find.
•They were given a list of hard spellings to learn.
•We're finding reliable workers hard to come by.
•a hard bench/chair
Idioms: ↑drive a hard bargain ▪ ↑give somebody a hard time ▪ ↑hard and fast ▪ ↑hard as nails ▪ ↑hard cheese ▪ hard done by ▪ ↑hard going ▪ ↑hard luck ▪ ↑hard on somebody ▪ ↑hard on something ▪ ↑hard pushed to do something ▪ ↑hard put to do something ▪ ↑hard up for something ▪ ↑hard way ▪ ↑make hard work of something ▪ ↑no hard feelings ▪ ↑play hard to get ▪ ↑take something hard ▪ ↑too much like hard work
Derived Word: ↑hardness

adverb (hard·er, hard·est)

WITH EFFORT
1. with great effort; with difficulty
•to work hard
• You must try harder.
• She tried her hardest not to show how disappointed she was.
•Don't hit it so hard!
•He was still breathing hard after his run.
•Our victory was hard won (= won with great difficulty).

WITH FORCE
2. with great force: (figurative)Small businesses have been hit hard / hard hit by the recession.

CAREFULLY
3. very carefully and thoroughly
•to think hard
• We thought long and hard before deciding to move house.

A LOT
4. heavily; a lot or for a long time
• It was raining hard when we set off.

LEFT/RIGHT
5. at a sharp angle to the left/right
•Turn hard right at the next junction.
more at old habits, traditions, etc. die hard at ↑die _v., (hard/hot) on sb's/sth's heels at ↑heel _n.

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

Which Word?:
hard / hardly
The adverb from the adjective hard is hard: ▪ I have to work hard today. ◇ ▪ She has thought very hard about her future plans. ◇ ▪ It was raining hard outside.
Hardly is an adverb meaning ‘almost not’: ▪ I hardly ever go to concerts. ◇ ▪ I can hardly wait for my birthday. It cannot be used instead of hard: I’ve been working hardly today. ◇ She has thought very hardly about her future plans. ◇ It was raining hardly outside.
note at ↑hardly

Example Bank:
•Crosby is fighting hard to keep his job.
•He had studied hard to become an engineer.
•I trained as hard as I could.
•She tried her hardest not to show her disappointment.
•The industry has been lobbying hard for cuts in electricity pricing.
•They prayed hard for rain.
•They work hard at school.
•You must try harder.