feeling physical discomfort or pain; " my throat feels bad"; " she felt bad all over"; ( 'tough' is occasionally used colloquially for ` bad' as in" he was feeling tough after a restless night")

a cruel and brutal fellow

violent and lawless; " the more ruffianly element"; " tough street gangs"

very difficult; severely testing stamina or resolution; " a rugged competitive examination"; " the rugged conditions of frontier life"; " the competition was tough"; " it's a tough life"; " it was a tough job"

someone who learned to fight in the streets rather than being formally trained in the sport of boxing

substantially made or constructed; " sturdy steel shelves"; " sturdy canvas"; " a tough all- weather fabric"; " some plastics are as tough as metal"

unfortunate or hard to bear; " had hard luck"; " a tough break"

tough to cut or chew

feeling physical discomfort or pain (` tough' is occasionally used colloquially for ` bad'); " my throat feels bad"; " she felt bad all over"; " he was feeling tough after a restless night"

not given to gentleness or sentimentality; " a tough character"

Having the quality of flexibility without brittleness; yielding to force without breaking; capable of resisting great strain; as, the ligaments of animals are remarkably tough.

Not easily broken; able to endure hardship; firm; strong; as, tough sinews.

Not easily separated; viscous; clammy; tenacious; as, tough phlegm.

Stiff; rigid; not flexible; stubborn; as, a tough bow.

Severe; violent; as, a tough storm.

Standing great strain without breaking; not easily broken or separated; able to endure hardship or strain; strong; firm; sticky; as, tough pitch; colloquially, difficult; hard to influence; stubborn; colloquially, rough and bad.

Colloquially, a rough fellow; a rowdy.

Toughly.

Toughness.

Not easily broken: firm: stiff: sticky: tenacious: able to endure hardship.

Not easily broken; tenacious; strong; able to endure hardship.

Capable of being bent or strained without breaking; tenacious.

Vicious; vulgar.

Admitting of tugging and pulling without fracture or injury; not easily broken or separated; able to endure hardships; tenacious; difficult, as a tough piece of business.

" It was pretty tough," agreed McPhearson. – Christopher and the Clockmakers by Sara Ware Bassett

Thin stringy cattle that gave up meat as tough as leather. – Deadly City by Paul W. Fairman

It's a tough lot- a mighty tough lot. – Free Joe and Other Georgian Sketches by Joel Chandler Harris

He had promised it; he was known for a man of his word; and owing to the morning's interruption it would be a tough job to finish, at the best. – The Delectable Duchy by Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch

" Pretty tough ribs to break, too," remarked the captain, with a look of profound distress. – Jeff Benson, or the Young Coastguardsman by R.M. Ballantyne

Wal, I heerd what a tough place this heah Benton was- so I jest come. – The U.P. Trail by Zane Grey

We've got a tough few days ahead of us but we'll tackle it together. – The Enchanted Canyon by Honoré Willsie Morrow

" Tough luck, all right. – The Hidden Places by Bertrand W. Sinclair

" It would be tough," I said, considering. – The Planet Savers by Marion Zimmer Bradley

" That was pretty tough," I muttered. – The Harbor by Ernest Poole

" Tough luck," a thin voice said near him. – The Lost Warship by Robert Moore Williams

It was Tough McCarty. – The Varmint by Owen Johnson F. R. Gruger

The same day on which he received this letter a customer came into his room about ten o'clock- and he was a tough customer, too. – Tales of the Road by Charles N. Crewdson

You say I have climbed up alone, from being a tough little would- be actress, who lived over a saloon in O'Farrell Street, to this! – The Story Of Julia Page Works of Kathleen Norris, Volume V. by Kathleen Norris

Tough luck, wasn't it? – Red Pepper Burns by Grace S. Richmond

" It would be a tough job to lift it out," Rawlins said. – The Abandoned Room by Wadsworth Camp

You were running with a tough bunch. – The Ridin' Kid from Powder River by Henry Herbert Knibbs

" I'm kind of under weight, but I'm a pretty tough guy, for all. – Ashton-Kirk, Criminologist by John T. McIntyre

Well, of all the tough- looking places I've ever struck, I think this takes the cake! – The Strange Cabin on Catamount Island by Lawrence J. Leslie

We did have rather a tough time in that old boat. – Ralph Granger's Fortunes by William Perry Brown