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hard
adjective (SEVERE) /hɑːd/
/hɑːrd/ Definition
B2 not pleasant or gentle; severe: You have to be quite hard to succeed in the property business. Ooh, you're a hard woman, Elaine! Our boss has been giving us all a hard time at work (= making our time at work difficult).Severe be hard on sb B2 to criticize someone severely, or to treat them unfairly: Don't be too hard on him - he's new to the job.Severe hardness
/-nəs/ noun [U] › These alloys are characterized by their extreme hardness.Hard and firmWater in general
(Definition of hard adjective (SEVERE) from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus
© Cambridge University Press)
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SMART Thesaurus: Severe
Synonyms and related words:
- an iron hand/fist in a velvet glove idiom
- austere adjective
- be heavy on sb idiom
- disciplinarian noun
- draconian adjective
- flaming adjective
- harsh adjective (UNKIND)
- rigour noun (FORCEFULNESS)
- roundly adverb
- rule sth with an iron hand/fist idiom
- severe adjective (NOT KIND)
- severely adverb (NOT KINDLY)
- sharp adjective (ABLE TO CUT)
- sharply adverb (ABLE TO CUT)
- stern adjective
- sternly adverb
- stiffly adverb (SEVERE)
- strict adjective
- strictly adverb
- strictness noun
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