Tough1. (superl.) Having the quality of flexibility without brittleness; yielding to force without breaking; capable of resisting great strain; as, the ligaments of animals are remarkably tough.
2. (superl.) Not easily broken; able to endure hardship; firm; strong; as, tough sinews.
3. (superl.) Not easily separated; viscous; clammy; tenacious; as, tough phlegm.
4. (superl.) Stiff; rigid; not flexible; stubborn; as, a tough bow.
5. (superl.) Severe; violent; as, a tough storm.
Thesaurus Entries
Antaeus, Atlas, Briareus, Brobdingnagian, Charles Atlas, Cyclops, Goliath, Herculean, Hercules, Mafioso, OK, Polyphemus, Samson, Spartan, Spartanic, Superman, Tarzan, Titan, Young Turk, abiding, abstruse, ace-high, acute, adamant, adamantine, adherent, adhesive, age-long, aged, amylaceous, ancient, antique, arbitrary, arduous, astringent, athletic, austere, authoritarian, backbreaking, bad, baffling, bang-up, battler, beast, beldam, belligerent, belted knight, berserk, berserker, beyond one, bickerer, blade, bomber, bony, bonzer, boss, bravo, brawler, brawny, bruiser, brutal, brute, bulky, bulldogged, bulldoggish, bulldoggy, bullheaded, bully, bullyboy, burdensome, burly, but good, callous, cartilaginous, cement, cemental, chewy, chronic, clabbered, clammy, clingy, clotted, coagulated, cohesive, cold, colossus, combatant, competitor, complex, complicated, concrete, confirmed, constant, contender, contestant, continuing, cool, coriaceous, corking, corneous, crabbed, crackerjack, cramp, critical, crushing, curdled, cutting, dandy, delicate, delicious, demanding, demon, dense, devil, diamondlike, difficile, difficult, disputant, diuturnal, doughty, doughy, dour, dragon, drastic, ducky, duelist, durable, dure, effortful, enduring, enforcer, evergreen, exacting, excessive, exigent, exorbitant, extravagant, extreme, fab, fencer, feuder, fibrous, fiend, fierce, fighter, fighting cock, fine and dandy, fire-eater, firebrand, firm, fixed, flintlike, flinty, foilsman, forced, formidable, furious, fury, game, gamecock, gamy, garbled, gaumy, gear, gelatinous, giant, gladiator, glairy, gluelike, gluey, glutenous, glutinose, glutinous, gooey, goon, gorilla, granitelike, granitic, great, grim, gristly, gritty, groovy, grueling, grumous, gumbo, gumbolike, gumlike, gummous, gummy, gun, gunsel, gutsy, gutty, hairy, hard, hard as nails, hard to understand, hard-bitten, hard-boiled, hard-earned, hard-fought, hard-line, hard-nosed, hard-set, hardened, hardhearted, hardnose, hardy, harsh, hatchet man, heavy, hefty, hell-raiser, hellcat, hellhound, hellion, holy terror, hood, hoodlum, hooligan, horny, hot, hothead, hotspur, hunky-dory, icy, immoderate, immutable, incendiary, inflexible, inspissated, intemperate, intense, intractable, intransient, intrepid, intricate, inured, inveterate, irksome, iron-hard, ironlike, jam-up, jawbreaking, jelled, jellied, jellylike, jouster, jumbled, just dandy, keen, killer, killing