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.
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