From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Hard \Hard\ (h[aum]rd), a. [Compar. {Harder} (-[~e]r); superl.
{Hardest}.] [OE. hard, heard, AS. heard; akin to OS. & D.
hard, G. hart, OHG. herti, harti, Icel. har[eth]r, Dan.
haard, Sw. h[*a]rd, Goth. hardus, Gr. kraty`s strong,
ka`rtos, kra`tos, strength, and also to E. -ard, as in
coward, drunkard, -crat, -cracy in autocrat, democracy; cf.
Skr. kratu strength, k[.r] to do, make. Cf. {Hardy}.]
1. Not easily penetrated, cut, or separated into parts; not
yielding to pressure; firm; solid; compact; -- applied to
material bodies, and opposed to {soft}; as, hard wood;
hard flesh; a hard apple.
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2. Difficult, mentally or judicially; not easily apprehended,
decided, or resolved; as a hard problem.
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The hard causes they brought unto Moses. --Ex.
xviii. 26.
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In which are some things hard to be understood. --2
Peter iii. 16.
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3. Difficult to accomplish; full of obstacles; laborious;
fatiguing; arduous; as, a hard task; a disease hard to
cure.
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4. Difficult to resist or control; powerful.
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The stag was too hard for the horse. --L'Estrange.
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A power which will be always too hard for them.
--Addison.
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5. Difficult to bear or endure; not easy to put up with or
consent to; hence, severe; rigorous; oppressive;
distressing; unjust; grasping; as, a hard lot; hard times;
hard fare; a hard winter; hard conditions or terms.
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I never could drive a hard bargain. --Burke.
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6. Difficult to please or influence; stern; unyielding;
obdurate; unsympathetic; unfeeling; cruel; as, a hard
master; a hard heart; hard words; a hard character.
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7. Not easy or agreeable to the taste; harsh; stiff; rigid;
ungraceful; repelling; as, a hard style.
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Figures harder than even the marble itself.
--Dryden.
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8. Rough; acid; sour, as liquors; as, hard cider.
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9. (Pron.) Abrupt or explosive in utterance; not aspirated,
sibilated, or pronounced with a gradual change of the
organs from one position to another; -- said of certain
consonants, as c in came, and g in go, as distinguished
from the same letters in center, general, etc.
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10. Wanting softness or smoothness of utterance; harsh; as, a
hard tone.
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11. (Painting)
(a) Rigid in the drawing or distribution of the figures;
formal; lacking grace of composition.
(b) Having disagreeable and abrupt contrasts in the
coloring or light and shade.
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{Hard cancer}, {Hard case}, etc. See under {Cancer}, {Case},
etc.
{Hard clam}, or {Hard-shelled clam} (Zool.), the quahog.
{Hard coal}, anthracite, as distinguished from {bituminous
coal} ({soft coal}).
{Hard and fast}. (Naut.) See under {Fast}.
{Hard finish} (Arch.), a smooth finishing coat of hard fine
plaster applied to the surface of rough plastering.
{Hard lines}, hardship; difficult conditions.
{Hard money}, coin or specie, as distinguished from paper
money.
{Hard oyster} (Zool.), the northern native oyster. [Local, U.
S.]
{Hard pan}, the hard stratum of earth lying beneath the soil;
hence, figuratively, the firm, substantial, fundamental
part or quality of anything; as, the hard pan of
character, of a matter in dispute, etc. See {Pan}.
{Hard rubber}. See under {Rubber}.
{Hard solder}. See under {Solder}.
{Hard water}, water, which contains lime or some mineral
substance rendering it unfit for washing. See {Hardness},
3.
{Hard wood}, wood of a solid or hard texture; as walnut, oak,
ash, box, and the like, in distinction from pine, poplar,
hemlock, etc.
{In hard condition}, in excellent condition for racing;
having firm muscles; -- said of race horses.
Syn: Solid; arduous; powerful; trying; unyielding; stubborn;
stern; flinty; unfeeling; harsh; difficult; severe;
obdurate; rigid. See {Solid}, and {Arduous}.
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