tough
US: /ˈtəf/
UK: /tˈʌf/
UK: /tˈʌf/
English Vietnamese dictionary
tough /tʌf/
- tính từ
- dai, bền
- tough meat: thịt dai
- tough rubber: cao su dai
- dai sức, dẻo dai; mạnh mẽ (người)
- tough constitution: thể chất mạnh mẽ dẻo dai
- cứng rắn, cứng cỏi, bất khuất
- a tough spirit: một tinh thần bất khuất
- khăng khăng, cố chấp, ương ngạnh, ngoan cố
- a tough customer: một gã khó trị, một gã ngoan cố
- khó, hắc búa, gay go (vấn đề, bài toán)
- dai, bền
- danh từ
- (từ Mỹ,nghĩa Mỹ), (từ lóng) thằng du côn, tên vô lại; tên kẻ cướp
Advanced English dictionary
adjective, noun, verb
+ adjective (tougher, toughest)
difficult
1 having or causing problems or difficulties: a tough childhood / match + It was a tough decision to make. + She's been having a tough time of it (= a lot of problems) lately. + He faces the toughest test of his leadership so far. + It can be tough trying to juggle a career and a family.
strict / firm
2 ~ (on / with sb/sth) demanding that particular rules be obeyed and showing a lack of sympathy for any problems or suffering that this may cause: Don't be too tough on him-he was only trying to help. + It's about time teachers started to get tough with bullies. + The school takes a tough line on (= punishes severely) cheating. + Local traders are calling for tougher action against vandals.
Antonym: SOFT
strong
3 strong enough to deal successfully with difficult conditions or situations: a tough breed of cattle + He's not tough enough for a career in sales. + She's a tough cookie / customer (= sb who knows what they want and is not easily influenced by other people).
4 (of a person) physically strong and likely to be violent: You think you're so tough, don't you? + He plays the tough guy in the movie.
meat
5 difficult to cut or chew
Antonym: TENDER
not easily damaged
6 not easily cut, broken, torn, etc: a tough pair of shoes + The reptile's skin is tough and scaly.
unfortunate
7 ~ (on sb) (informal) unfortunate for sb in a way that seems unfair: It was tough on her being dropped from the team like that. + (ironic) 'I can't get it finished in time.' 'Tough!' (= I don't feel sorry about it.)
toughly adverb
toughness noun [U]: Her background had given her the physical and mental toughness that enabled her to fight for what she wanted.
Idioms: (as) tough as old boots
(as) tough as nails (informal)
1 very strong and able to deal successfully with difficult conditions or situations: She's almost 90 but she's still as tough as old boots.
2 not feeling or showing any emotion
tough luck (informal)
1 (BrE) used to show sympathy for sth unfortunate that has happened to sb: 'I failed by one point.' 'That's tough luck.'
2 (ironic) used to show that you do not feel sorry for sb who has a problem: 'If you take the car, I won't be able to go out.' 'Tough luck!'
more at GOING n., HANG v., NUT n., TALK v.
+ noun (old-fashioned, informal) a person who regularly uses violence against other people
verb
Phrasal Verbs: tough sth<->out to stay firm and determined in a difficult situation: You're just going to have to tough it out.
Thesaurus dictionary
adj.
1 hard, firm, durable, long-lasting, wear-resistant, substantial, strong, stout, rugged, sturdy, sound, well-built:
Only one kind of material is tough enough to endure such conditions for so long.
2 stiff, hard, leathery, inflexible, chewy, fibrous, cartilaginous, sinewy, ropy, wiry, stringy:
That steak was as tough as shoe-leather.
3 strong, stalwart, brawny, burly, muscular, powerful, virile, manly, sturdy, doughty, intrepid, stout, rough, vigorous, strapping, athletic:
Two tough-looking characters moved towards us, so we left.
4 difficult, demanding, exacting, hard, troublesome; laborious, taxing, strenuous:
We deal with tough complaints every day. It's a tough job.
5 baffling, thorny, puzzling, perplexing, mystifying, knotty, irksome, difficult:
The examiners asked us some very tough questions.
6 stubborn, hardened, inured, obstinate, obdurate, hard, harsh, severe, stern, inflexible, refractory, intractable, adamant, unyielding, ungiving, rigid, unbending, unsentimental, unfeeling, unsympathetic, callous, hard-boiled, uncaring, cold, cool, icy, stony, Colloq hard-nosed:
He's a tough man to work for, but he's fair.
interj.
7 Colloq Too bad!, Tough luck!, Hard luck!, Brit Hard cheese!, Slang Tough titty!, Taboo Slang Tough shit!:
When I told him that my money had been stolen, he said 'Tough!'
n.
8 bruiser, hooligan, bully (boy), rowdy, thug, ruffian, Colloq roughneck, bruiser, tough guy, gorilla:
A couple of toughs who had been threatening the cashier disappeared when they saw our uniforms.
Collocation dictionary
1 difficult/unpleasant
VERBS
be, seem | get
ADV.
extremely, particularly, really, very | a bit, fairly, a little, pretty, quite
Things were pretty tough at first.
PREP.
on
It's very tough on the wives when the husbands go off like that.
2 strict/firm
VERBS
be | become, get
ADV.
extremely, particularly, very | fairly, pretty, quite | enough
Has the government been tough enough on polluters?
PREP.
on
The government has promised to get tough on crime.
| with
You have to be tough with these young thugs.
3 strong
VERBS
be, feel, look, seem | become, get, grow | act, talk
(both informal) Then this guy started acting tough.
ADV.
incredibly, really, remarkably, very | pretty, quite, reasonably | enough
Are you sure you're physically tough enough for this job?
| mentally, physically
Concise English dictionary
toughs|tougher|toughesttʌf
noun
+someone who learned to fight in the streets rather than being formally trained in the sport of boxing
+an aggressive and violent young criminal
+a cruel and brutal fellow
adj.
+not given to gentleness or sentimentality
+very difficult; severely testing stamina or resolution
+physically toughened
+substantially made or constructed
+violent and lawless
+feeling physical discomfort or pain (`tough' is occasionally used colloquially for `bad')
+resistant to cutting or chewing
+unfortunate or hard to bear
+making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe
