Antonyms for hard

Grammar : Adj, adv

Spell : hahrd

Phonetic Transcription : hɑrd

Definition of hard

Origin : Old English heard "solid, firm, not soft," also "severe, rigorous, cruel," from Proto-Germanic *hardu- (cf. Old Saxon and Dutch hard, Old Norse harðr "hard," Old High German harto "extremely, very," German hart, Gothic hardus "hard"), from PIE *kortu-, (cf. Greek kratos "strength," kratys "strong"), from root *kar-/*ker- "hard." Meaning "difficult to do" is from c.1200. The adverb sense was also present in Old English.
Hard of hearing preserves obsolete Middle English sense of "having difficulty in doing something." Hard liquor is 1879, American English (hard drink is from 1810; hard cider is from 1789), and this probably led to hard drugs (1955). Hard facts is from 1887; hard news is from 1938. Hard copy (as opposed to computer record) is from 1964; hard disk is from 1978. Hard up (1610s) is originally nautical, of steering (slang sense of "short of money" is from 1821), as is hard and fast (1680s), of a ship on shore. Hard times "period of poverty" is from 1705.
Hard money (1706) is specie, as opposed to paper. Hence 19c. U.S. hard (n.) "one who advocates the use of metallic money as the national currency" (1844). To play hard to get is from 1945. Hard rock as a pop music style recorded from 1967.

adj rocklike
adj difficult, exhausting
adj cruel, ruthless
adj true, indisputable
adv with great force
adv with determination
adv with difficulty
adv with resentment
adv in a fixed manner

Example sentences :

But Uncle Peter had already put in some hard winters, and was not wanting in fortitude.
Extract from : « The Spenders » by Harry Leon Wilson

Ambrose only exclaimed “O uncle, you must have been hard pressed.”
Extract from : « The Armourer's Prentices » by Charlotte M. Yonge

Our hero, though strong-armed, had hard work to keep up with him.
Extract from : « Brave and Bold » by Horatio Alger

No wonder Florence has a hard time of it; but isn't it wretched of me to gossip?
Extract from : « The Spenders » by Harry Leon Wilson

I seen some hard times myself, and this boy's father was a fighter, too.
Extract from : « The Spenders » by Harry Leon Wilson

Shepler's doing some hard thinking for himself by this time.
Extract from : « The Spenders » by Harry Leon Wilson

But they were an old race, and they were worn out by centuries of hard work.
Extract from : « Ancient Man » by Hendrik Willem van Loon

He would say that his was a trip of business, and not pleasure, and hard work he had.
Extract from : « Explorations in Australia » by John Forrest

I had hard work to get them along, and at last they would not walk.
Extract from : « Explorations in Australia » by John Forrest

We had to carry the water from the spring in drums, which was slow and hard work.
Extract from : « Explorations in Australia » by John Forrest

Synonyms for hard

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019