tough

adjective (VIOLENT)

/tʌf/

Definition

› likely to be violent or to contain violence; not kind or pleasant: a tough neighbourhood Many of the country's toughest criminals are held in this prison.Violent or aggressiveUnkind, cruel and unfeelingTreating people or animals badly toughly

/ˈtʌf.li/ adverb › These boots are very toughly (= strongly) made. The newspaper published a toughly worded article about racist behaviour. We live in a toughly competitive world.Physically strong and powerful toughness

/ˈtʌf.nəs/ C2 She has a reputation for toughness (= being strong and determined). They can't face the toughness of the competition.ComplexityDifficult to understandPower and intensityEnergy, force and power

(Definition of tough adjective (VIOLENT) from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)