Tough synonym | Thesaurus.com

Main Entry:	tough
Part of Speech:	noun
Definition:	person who is rowdy, mean
Synonyms:	brute, bully, criminal, gangster, goon, hood, hoodlum, hooligan, punk, rough, roughneck, rowdy, ruffian, thug, villain, bruiser

* = informal/non-formal usage

Main Entry:	tough
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	sturdy, strong
Synonyms:	brawny, conditioned, dense, durable, fibrous, firm, fit, flinty, hard, hardened, hardy, healthy, indigestible, inflexible, leathery, lusty, mighty, resilient, resistant, rigid, robust, rugged, seasoned, sinewy, solid, stalwart, stiff, stout, strapping, tenacious, tight, unbreakable, unyielding, vigorous, cohesive, hard as nails, hard-bitten, molded, steeled, tough as nails, withstanding
Antonyms:	delicate, fragile, unstable, vulnerable, weak, wobbly

Main Entry:	tough
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	obstinate, rough
Synonyms:	adamant, arbitrary, callous, confirmed, cruel, desperate, drastic, exacting, ferocious, fierce, firm, fixed, hard, hard-boiled, hard-line, hard-nosed, harsh, headstrong, immutable, inflexible, intractable, merciless, narrow, obdurate, pugnacious, refractory, resolute, ruthless, savage, severe, stern, stiff, strict, stubborn, taut, terrible, unalterable, unbending, uncompromising, uncontrollable, unforgiving, unmanageable, unyielding, vicious, violent, hard-bitten, hard-shelled, ruffianly
Antonyms:	gentle, kind, nice, tender

* = informal/non-formal usage

Main Entry:	tough
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	difficult, laborious
Synonyms:	arduous, backbreaking, baffling, burdensome, demanding, exacting, exigent, grievous, hairy, handful, hard, heavy, intractable, intricate, irksome, knotty, labored, mean, onerous, oppressive, perplexing, puzzling, severe, stiff, strenuous, taxing, thorny, toilsome, troublesome, trying, unyielding, uphill, weighty, wicked, effortful, exhausting, no piece of cake, resisting
Antonyms:	easy, facile, controllable

* = informal/non-formal usage

Main Entry:	arduous
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	difficult, hard to endure
Synonyms:	backbreaking, burdensome, formidable, grueling, harsh, heavy, labored, laborious, murder, onerous, painful, punishing, rigorous, rough, severe, strenuous, taxing, tiring, toilsome, tough, troublesome, trying, uphill, exhausting, fatiguing, no picnic
Antonyms:	easy, facile, motivating

Main Entry:	awful
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	very bad; terrible
Synonyms:	abominable, alarming, appalling, atrocious, deplorable, depressing, dire, disgusting, distressing, dreadful, fearful, frightful, ghastly, gross, gruesome, grungy, harrowing, hideous, horrible, nasty, offensive, raunchy, repulsive, shocking, stinking, synthetic, tough, ugly, unpleasant, unsightly, grody, horrendous, horrific, horrifying
Antonyms:	beautiful, good, pleasing, ok

* = informal/non-formal usage

Main Entry:	brawny
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	muscular, strong
Synonyms:	able-bodied, athletic, beefy, bulky, burly, fleshy, hardy, hefty, husky, powerful, robust, sinewy, stalwart, strapping, sturdy, tough, vigorous, vital, thewy
Antonyms:	frail, skinny, slight, thin, weak

Main Entry:	bully
Part of Speech:	noun
Definition:	domineering person
Synonyms:	hector, insolent, oppressor, pest, rascal, rowdy, ruffian, tease, tough, annoyer, antagonizer, browbeater, bulldozer, coercer, harrier, intimidator, persecutor, tormenter

Main Entry:	burdensome
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	troublesome
Synonyms:	demanding, difficult, disturbing, exacting, exigent, heavy*, irksome, onerous, oppressive, taxing, tough, trying, wearing, weighty, carking, crushing, superincumbent, wearying
Antonyms:	helpful, helping, aiding, relieving, unburdensome

* = informal/non-formal usage

Main Entry:	callous
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	cruel, insensitive
Synonyms:	apathetic, careless, cold, cold-blooded, hard, hard-boiled, hardened, hardhearted, heartless, impassive, impenitent, indifferent, inflexible, insensate, insensible, insensitive, obdurate, soulless, spiritless, stiff, stony, stubborn, thick-skinned, torpid, tough, unaffected, unbending, uncaring, unconcerned, unfeeling, unresponsive, unsympathetic, blind to, case-hardened, deaf to, hard-bitten, indurated, insentient, inured, toughened, uncompassionate, unimpressionable, unsusceptible
Notes:	callus is a hard patch of skin; callous is an adjective meaning 'indifferent to suffering' or 'hardened'
Antonyms:	compassionate, feeling, kind, nice, sensitive, sympathetic, tender

Main Entry:	courageous
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	brave, bold
Synonyms:	Spartan, adventurous, assured, audacious, cool, daredevil, daring, dauntless, doughty, fearless, fiery, gallant, game, gritty, gutsy, hardy, heroic, high-spirited, indomitable, intrepid, lionhearted, martial, nervy, plucky, resolute, stalwart, stouthearted, strong, tenacious, tough, unafraid, undaunted, valiant, valorous, venturesome, Trojan, adventuresome, fire-eating, impavid, red-blooded, stand tall, venturous
Antonyms:	cowardly, fearful, meek, shy, timid, weak, faint-hearted, fearing

* = informal/non-formal usage

Main Entry:	crabby/crabbed
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	in a bad mood
Synonyms:	acid, acrid, acrimonious, awkward, bad-tempered, blunt, brusque, captious, choleric, churlish, cranky, cross, crotchety, crusty, cynical, difficult, dour, fretful, gloomy, glum, grouchy*, harsh, huffy, ill-tempered, irascible, irritable, misanthropic, morose, peevish, perverse, petulant, prickly, saturnine, snappish, snappy, sour, sulky, sullen, surly, tart, testy, tough, trying, unsociable, ill-humored, nasty-tempered, splenetic
Antonyms:	happy

* = informal/non-formal usage

Main Entry:	demanding
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	challenging, urgent
Synonyms:	ambitious, bothersome, clamorous, critical, dictatorial, difficult, exacting, exigent, fussy, grievous, hard, imperious, importunate, insistent, onerous, oppressive, pressing, querulous, strict, stringent, taxing, tough, troublesome, trying, wearing, weighty, backbreaker, exhausting, nagging
Antonyms:	easy, facile, trivial, unchallenging, undemanding

Main Entry:	dispassionate
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	unfeeling, impartial
Synonyms:	abstract, aloof, calm, candid, cold-blooded, cold-fish, collected, composed, cool, cool cat, couldn't care less, detached, disinterested, fair, iceberg, impersonal, imperturbable, indifferent, judicial, just, laid back, moderate, neutral, nondiscriminatory, nonpartisan, objective, poker-faced*, quiet, serene, sober, temperate, tough, unbiased, unemotional, unexcitable, unexcited, unflappable, uninvolved, unmoved, unprejudiced, unruffled
Antonyms:	biased, emotional, excited, feeling, involved, moved, partial, passionate, prejudiced, subjective

* = informal/non-formal usage

Main Entry:	durable
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	sturdy, long-lasting
Synonyms:	abiding, constant, dependable, enduring, fast, firm, fixed, impervious, lasting, permanent, persistent, reliable, resistant, sound, stable, stout, strong, substantial, tenacious, tough, diuturnal, long-continued, perdurable, perduring
Antonyms:	fragile, impermanent, temporary, undependable, weak, poorly made, unsturdy

Main Entry:	efficient
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	adept, effective
Synonyms:	able, accomplished, active, adapted, adequate, apt, businesslike, capable, clever, competent, conducive, decisive, deft, dynamic, economic, economical, effectual, efficacious, energetic, experienced, expert, fitted, handy, masterly, organized, potent, powerful, practiced, productive, proficient, profitable, qualified, ready, saving, shrewd, skilled, skillful, systematic, talented, tough, useful, valuable, virtuous, equal to, familiar with, good at, good for, well-organized
Antonyms:	helpless, impotent, incompetent, ineffective, inefficient, powerless, unable, weak

Main Entry:	energetic
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	full of life; forceful
Synonyms:	active, aggressive, animated, breezy, brisk, driving, dynamic, enterprising, forcible, fresh, hardy, high-powered, indefatigable, industrious, lively, lusty, peppy, potent, powerful, rugged, snappy, spirited, sprightly, spry, stalwart, strenuous, strong, sturdy, tireless, tough, unflagging, untiring, vigorous, vital, vivacious, zippy, ball of fire, demoniac, kinetic, red-blooded
Antonyms:	idle, inactive, lazy, lethargic, lifeless, slow, sluggish, tired

* = informal/non-formal usage

Main Entry:	exacting
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	demanding
Synonyms:	burdensome, careful, critical, difficult, exigent, finicky, fussy, grievous, hard, harsh, hypercritical, imperious, onerous, oppressive, painstaking, particular, persnickety, picky, precise, rigid, rigorous, severe, stern, strict, stringent, taxing, tough, trying, unsparing, weighty, by the book, nit-picking
Antonyms:	giving, lending

Main Entry:	feisty
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	spirited; touchy
Synonyms:	active, alive, bubbly, courageous, difficult, enthusiastic, excitable, fiery, frisky, game, gritty, gutsy, high-strung, lively, mettlesome, ornery, peppy, quarrelsome, sensitive, spunky, thin-skinned, tough, truculent, full of pep, gutty, hot-blooded, scrappy, zestful

Main Entry:	forbidding
Part of Speech:	adjective
Definition:	ominous, daunting
Synonyms:	abhorrent, disagreeable, dour, foreboding, frightening, grim, hostile, menacing, odious, offensive, repellent, repulsive, sinister, threatening, tough, ugly, unapproachable, unfriendly, unpleasant, glowering, off-putting
Antonyms:	approachable, friendly, undaunting