| tough | (adjective) resistant to cutting or chewing | - |
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| (adjective) physically toughened | Synonyms: toughened |
| (adjective) not given to gentleness or sentimentality | - |
| (adjective) unfortunate or hard to bear | Synonyms: hard |
| (adjective) substantially made or constructed | Synonyms: sturdy |
| (adjective) feeling physical discomfort or pain (`tough' is occasionally used colloquially for `bad') | Synonyms: bad |
| (adjective) violent and lawless | Synonyms: ruffianly |
| (adjective) very difficult; severely testing stamina or resolution | Synonyms: rugged |
| (adjective) making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe | Synonyms: baffling, elusive, knotty, problematic, problematical |
| (noun) an aggressive and violent young criminal | Synonyms: goon, hood, hoodlum, punk, strong-armer, thug, toughie |
| (noun) a cruel and brutal fellow | Synonyms: bully, hooligan, roughneck, rowdy, ruffian, yob, yobbo, yobo |
| (noun) someone who learned to fight in the streets rather than being formally trained in the sport of boxing | Synonyms: street fighter |
| toughen | (verb) make tough or tougher | - |
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| toughened | (adjective) physically toughened | Synonyms: tough |
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| (adjective) made hard or flexible or resilient especially by heat treatment | Synonyms: hardened, tempered, treated |
| toughie | (noun) a particularly difficult or baffling question or problem | Synonyms: poser, sticker, stumper |
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| (noun) an aggressive and violent young criminal | Synonyms: goon, hood, hoodlum, punk, strong-armer, thug, tough |
| toughly | (adverb) in a ruggedly tough manner | - |
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| toughness | (noun) the property of being big and strong | Synonyms: huskiness, ruggedness |
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| (noun) enduring strength and energy | Synonyms: stamina, staying power |
| (noun) impressive difficulty | Synonyms: formidability |
| (noun) the elasticity and hardness of a metal object; its ability to absorb considerable energy before cracking | Synonyms: temper |