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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Hard \Hard\ (h[aum]rd), adjective [Compar. {Harder} (-[~e]r); superl. {Hardest}.] [OE. hard, heard, AS. heard; akin to OS. & D. hard, G. hart, OHG. herti, harti, Icel. har[eth]r, Dan. haard, Sw. h[*a]rd, Goth. hardus, Gr. kraty's strong, ka'rtos, kra'tos, strength, and also to E. -ard, as in coward, drunkard, -crat, -cracy in autocrat, democracy; cf. Skr. kratu strength, k[.r] to do, make. Cf. {Hardy}.]
1. Not easily penetrated, cut, or separated into parts; not yielding to pressure; firm; solid; compact; -- applied to material bodies, and opposed to {soft}; as, hard wood; hard flesh; a hard apple.
2. Difficult, mentally or judicially; not easily apprehended, decided, or resolved; as a hard problem.
The hard causes they brought unto Moses. --Ex. xviii. 26.
In which are some things hard to be understood. --2 Peter iii. 16.
3. Difficult to accomplish; full of obstacles; laborious; fatiguing; arduous; as, a hard task; a disease hard to cure.
4. Difficult to resist or control; powerful.
The stag was too hard for the horse. --L'Estrange.
A power which will be always too hard for them. --Addison.
5. Difficult to bear or endure; not easy to put up with or consent to; hence, severe; rigorous; oppressive; distressing; unjust; grasping; as, a hard lot; hard times; hard fare; a hard winter; hard conditions or terms.
I never could drive a hard bargain. --Burke.
6. Difficult to please or influence; stern; unyielding; obdurate; unsympathetic; unfeeling; cruel; as, a hard master; a hard heart; hard words; a hard character.
7. Not easy or agreeable to the taste; harsh; stiff; rigid; ungraceful; repelling; as, a hard style.
Figures harder than even the marble itself. --Dryden.
8. Rough; acid; sour, as liquors; as, hard cider.
9. (Pron.) Abrupt or explosive in utterance; not aspirated, sibilated, or pronounced with a gradual change of the organs from one position to another; -- said of certain consonants, as c in came, and g in go, as distinguished from the same letters in center, general, etc.
10. Wanting softness or smoothness of utterance; harsh; as, a hard tone.
11. (Painting) (a) Rigid in the drawing or distribution of the figures; formal; lacking grace of composition. (b) Having disagreeable and abrupt contrasts in the coloring or light and shade.
{Hard cancer}, {Hard case}, etc. See under {Cancer}, {Case}, etc.
{Hard clam}, or {Hard-shelled clam} (Zo["o]l.), the quahog.
{Hard coal}, anthracite, as distinguished from {bituminous coal} ({soft coal}).
{Hard and fast}. (Naut.) See under {Fast}.
{Hard finish} (Arch.), a smooth finishing coat of hard fine plaster applied to the surface of rough plastering.
{Hard lines}, hardship; difficult conditions.
{Hard money}, coin or specie, as distinguished from paper money.
{Hard oyster} (Zo["o]l.), the northern native oyster. [Local, U. S.]
{Hard pan}, the hard stratum of earth lying beneath the soil; hence, figuratively, the firm, substantial, fundamental part or quality of anything; as, the hard pan of character, of a matter in dispute, etc. See {Pan}.
{Hard rubber}. See under {Rubber}.
{Hard solder}. See under {Solder}.
{Hard water}, water, which contains lime or some mineral substance rendering it unfit for washing. See {Hardness}, 3.
{Hard wood}, wood of a solid or hard texture; as walnut, oak, ash, box, and the like, in distinction from pine, poplar, hemlock, etc.
{In hard condition}, in excellent condition for racing; having firm muscles; -- said of race horses.
Syn: Solid; arduous; powerful; trying; unyielding; stubborn; stern; flinty; unfeeling; harsh; difficult; severe; obdurate; rigid. See {Solid}, and {Arduous}.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Harder \Har"der\ (h[aum]r"d[~e]r), noun (Zo["o]l.) A South African mullet, salted for food.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
harder See {hard}
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
hard
adjective
1: not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure; "a difficult task"; "nesting places on the cliffs are difficult of access"; "difficult times"; "a difficult child"; "found himself in a difficult situation"; "why is it so hard for you to keep a secret?" [syn: {difficult}] [ant: {easy}]
2: metaphorically hard; "a hard fate"; "took a hard look"; "a hard bargainer"; "a hard climb" [ant: {soft}]
3: not yielding to pressure or easily penetrated; "hard as rock" [ant: {soft}]
4: very strong or vigorous; "strong winds"; "a hard left to the chin"; "a knockout punch"; "a severe blow" [syn: {knockout}, {severe}]
5: characterized by toilsome effort to the point of exhaustion; especially physical effort; "worked their arduous way up the mining valley"; "a grueling campaign"; "hard labor"; "heavy work"; "heavy going"; "spent many laborious hours on the project"; "set a punishing pace" [syn: {arduous}, {backbreaking}, {grueling}, {gruelling}, {heavy}, {laborious}, {punishing}, {toilsome}]
6: of speech sounds [ant: {soft}]
7: of a drinker or drinking; indulging intemperately; "does a lot of hard drinking"; "a heavy drinker" [syn: {hard(a)}, {heavy}]
8: having undergone fermentation; "hard cider" [syn: {fermented}]
9: having a high alcoholic content; "hard liquor" [syn: {strong}]
10: unfortunate or hard to bear; "had hard luck"; "a tough break" [syn: {tough}]
11: dried out; "hard dry rolls left over from the day before"
adverb
1: with effort or force or vigor; "the team played hard"; "worked hard all day"; "pressed hard on the lever"; "hit the ball hard"; "slammed the door hard"
2: with firmness; "held hard to the railing" [syn: {firmly}]
3: earnestly or intently; "thought hard about it"; "stared hard at the accused"
4: causing great damage or hardship; "industries hit hard by the depression"; "she was severely affected by the bank's failure" [syn: {severely}]
5: slowly and with difficulty; "prejudices die hard"
6: indulging excessively; "he drank heavily" [syn: {heavily}, {intemperately}] [ant: {lightly}]
7: into a solid condition; "concrete that sets hard within a few hours"
8: very near or close in space or time; "it stands hard by the railroad tracks"; "they were hard on his heels"; "a strike followed hard upon the plant's opening"
9: with pain or distress or bitterness; "he took the rejection very hard"
10: to the full extent possible; all the way; "hard alee"; "the ship went hard astern"; "swung the wheel hard left" [also: {hardest}, {harder}]
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