hard

H`ARD, a.

1. Firm; solid; compact; not easily penetrated, or separated into parts; not yielding to pressure; applied to material bodies, and opposed to soft; as hard wood; hard flesh; a hard apple.

2. Difficult; not easy to the intellect.

In which are some things hard to be understood. 2 Pet.3.

The hard causes they brought to Moses. Ex. 18.

3. Difficult of accomplishment; not easy to be done or executed. A hard task; a disease hard to cure.

Is any thing too hard for the Lord? Gen.18.

4. Full of difficulties or obstacles; not easy to be traveled; as a hard way.

5. Painful; difficult; distressing.

Rachel travailed, and she had hard labor. Gen.35.

6. Laborious; fatiguing; attended with difficulty or pain, or both; as hard work or labor; hard duty; hard service.

7. Oppressive; rigorous; severe; cruel; as hard bondage; a hard master. Ex.1. Is. 14.

8. Unfeeling; insensible; not easily moved by pity; not susceptible of kindness, mercy or other tender affections; as a hard heart.

9. Severe; harsh; rough; abusive.

Have you given him any hard words of late?

10. Unfavorable; unkind; implying blame of another; as hard thoughts.

11. Severe; rigorous; oppressive. The enemy was compelled to submit to hard terms. So we say, a hard bargain; hard conditions.

12. Unreasonable; unjust. It is hard to punish a man for speculative opinions. It is a hard case.

13. Severe; pinching with cold; rigorous; tempestuous; as a hard winter; hard weather.

14. Powerful; forcible; urging; pressing close on.

The stag was too hard for the horse.

The disputant was too hard for his antagonist.

15. Austere; rough; acid; sour; as liquors.

The cider is hard.

16. Harsh; stiff; forced; constrained; unnatural.

Others--make the figures harder than the marble itself.

His diction is hard, his figures too bold.

17. Not plentiful; not prosperous; pressing; distressing; as hard times, when markets are bad, and money of course scarce.

18. Avaricious; difficult in making bargains; close. Matt.25.

19. Rough; of coarse features; as a hard face or countenance.

20. Austere; severe; rigorous.

21. Rude; unpolished or unintelligible.

A people of hard language. Ezek.3.

22. Coarse; unpalatable or scanty; as hard fare.

H`ARD, adv. Close; near; as in the phrase,hard by. In this phrase,the word retains its original sense of pressed, or pressing.

[L. pressus.]

1. With pressure; with urgency; hence, diligently; laboriously; earnestly; vehemently; importunately; as, to work hard for a living.

And pray'd so hard for mercy from the prince.

2. With difficulty; as, the vehicle moves hard.

3. Uneasily; vexatiously.

4. Closely; so as to raise difficulties.

The question is hard set.

5. Fast; nimbly; rapidly; vehemently; as, to run hard, that is, with pressure or urgency.

6. Violently; with great force; tempestuously; as, the wind blows hard, or it blows hard.

7. With violence; with a copious descent of water; as, it rains hard.

8. With force; as, to press hard.

Hard-a-lee, in seamen's language, an order to put the helm close to the lee side of the ship, to tack or keep her head to the wind; also, that situation of the helm.

Hard-a-weather, an order to put the helm close to the weather or windward side of the ship; also, that position of the helm.

Hard-a-port, an order to put the helm close to the larboard side of a ship.

Hard-a-starboard, an order to put the helm close to the starboard side of a ship.

Firefox Plugin

I | S

1828 Webster's

Add Search
To Your Site

[ + ]

hard

Why Donate?

Donate Using PayPal

Donations from Outside of the United States

Donations by Other Methods

News: solemnly