tough

CEFRB1

/tʌf/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Strong and not easily broken, damaged, or defeated.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Difficult to do or deal with.

Examples

  • The communist gave in to his tough opponent at last.

  • To begin with, that kind of work is too tough for me.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Able to deal with difficult conditions.

  2. Of a person or animal, rugged or physically hardy.

  3. Of food, difficult to cut or chew.

More examples

In context

  • Only a tough species will survive in the desert.

  • The tent, made of tough canvas, held up to many abuses.

  • To soften a tough cut of meat, the recipe suggested simmering it for hours.

Synonyms

Quick test

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The blank leather jacket lasted for many years without getting any tearing.

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Nearby

Origin

adjective

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 *tinganą (“to press upon, throng”), from Proto-Indo-European *denḱ- (“to bite”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian toai (“tough”), Bavarian zaach, zach (“tough”), Dutch taai (“tough”), German zäh, zähe (“tough”), Limburgish tiee (“tough”), Luxembourgish zéi (“tough”); also Ancient Greek δάκνω (dáknō, “to bite”), Albanian danë, darë (“tongs; pincers; pliers”), Sanskrit दशति (daśati, “to bite”).