Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun tough

3 senses of tough

Sense 1
street fighter, tough -- (someone who learned to fight in the streets rather than being formally trained in the sport of boxing)
       => combatant, battler, belligerent, fighter, scrapper -- (someone who fights (or is fighting))

Sense 2
hood, hoodlum, goon, punk, thug, tough, toughie, strong-armer -- (an aggressive and violent young criminal)
       => criminal, felon, crook, outlaw, malefactor -- (someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime)

Sense 3
bully, tough, hooligan, ruffian, roughneck, rowdy, yob, yobo, yobbo -- (a cruel and brutal fellow)
       => attacker, aggressor, assailant, assaulter -- (someone who attacks)

Antonyms of adj tough

9 senses of tough

Sense 1
tough (vs. tender) -- (not given to gentleness or sentimentality; "a tough character")

tender (vs. tough) -- (given to sympathy or gentleness or sentimentality; "a tender heart"; "a tender smile"; "tender loving care"; "tender memories"; "a tender mother")
        => protective -- (showing care; "a protective mother")
        => sentimental -- (given to or marked by sentiment or sentimentality)

Sense 2
rugged, tough -- (very difficult; severely testing stamina or resolution; "a rugged competitive examination"; "the rugged conditions of frontier life"; "the competition was tough"; "it's a tough life"; "it was a tough job")

INDIRECT (VIA difficult) -> easy -- (posing no difficulty; requiring little effort; "an easy job"; "an easy problem"; "an easy victory"; "the house is easy to heat"; "satisfied with easy answers"; "took the easy way out of his dilemma")

Sense 3
tough (vs. tender), toughened -- (physically toughened; "the tough bottoms of his feet")

tender (vs. tough), untoughened -- (physically untoughened; "tender feet")
        => delicate, soft -- (easily hurt; "soft hands"; "a baby's delicate skin")

Sense 4
sturdy, tough -- (substantially made or constructed; "sturdy steel shelves"; "sturdy canvas"; "a tough all-weather fabric"; "some plastics are as tough as metal")

INDIRECT (VIA rugged) -> delicate -- (exquisitely fine and subtle and pleasing; susceptible to injury; "a delicate violin passage"; "delicate china"; "a delicate flavor"; "the delicate wing of a butterfly")

Sense 5
ruffianly, tough -- (violent and lawless; "the more ruffianly element"; "tough street gangs")

INDIRECT (VIA violent) -> nonviolent -- (abstaining (on principle) from the use of violence)

Sense 6
bad, tough -- (feeling physical discomfort or pain (`tough' is occasionally used colloquially for `bad'); "my throat feels bad"; "she felt bad all over"; "he was feeling tough after a restless night")

INDIRECT (VIA uncomfortable) -> comfortable, comfy -- (providing or experiencing physical well-being or relief (`comfy' is informal); "comfortable clothes"; "comfortable suburban houses"; "made himself comfortable in an armchair"; "the antihistamine made her feel more comfortable"; "are you comfortable?"; "feeling comfy now?")

Sense 7
tough (vs. tender) -- (resistant to cutting or chewing)

tender (vs. tough) -- (easy to cut or chew; "tender beef")
        => chewable, cuttable -- (easy to cut or chew)
        => crisp, crispy -- (tender and brittle; "crisp potato chips")
        => flaky, flakey -- (made of or easily forming flakes)
        => tenderized, tenderised -- (made tender as by marinating or pounding; "tenderized meat")

Sense 8
hard, tough -- (unfortunate or hard to bear; "had hard luck"; "a tough break")

INDIRECT (VIA bad) -> good -- (having desirable or positive qualities especially those suitable for a thing specified; "good news from the hospital"; "a good report card"; "when she was good she was very very good"; "a good knife is one good for cutting"; "this stump will make a good picnic table"; "a good check"; "a good joke"; "a good exterior paint"; "a good secretary"; "a good dress for the office")

Sense 9
baffling, elusive, knotty, problematic, problematical, tough -- (making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe; "a baffling problem"; "I faced the knotty problem of what to have for breakfast"; "a problematic situation at home")

INDIRECT (VIA difficult) -> easy -- (posing no difficulty; requiring little effort; "an easy job"; "an easy problem"; "an easy victory"; "the house is easy to heat"; "satisfied with easy answers"; "took the easy way out of his dilemma")

Similarity of adj tough

9 senses of tough

Sense 1
tough (vs. tender) -- (not given to gentleness or sentimentality; "a tough character")
       => hard-bitten, hard-boiled, pugnacious -- (tough and callous by virtue of experience)
       => tough-minded, unsentimental -- (facing facts or difficulties realistically and with determination)
          Also See-> hard#2; insensitive#2

Sense 2
rugged, tough -- (very difficult; severely testing stamina or resolution; "a rugged competitive examination"; "the rugged conditions of frontier life"; "the competition was tough"; "it's a tough life"; "it was a tough job")
       => difficult (vs. easy), hard -- (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"; "why is it so hard for you to keep a secret?")

Sense 3
tough (vs. tender), toughened -- (physically toughened; "the tough bottoms of his feet")
       => calloused, callous, thickened -- (having calluses; having skin made tough and thick through wear; "calloused skin"; "with a workman's callous hands")
       => enured, inured, hardened -- (made tough by habitual exposure; "hardened fishermen"; "a peasant, dark, lean-faced, wind-inured"- Robert Lynd; "our successors...may be graver, more inured and equable men"- V.S.Pritchett)
       => weather-beaten -- (tanned and coarsened from being outdoors; "a weather-beaten face")
          Also See-> experienced#1, experient#1; rugged#1; strong#1

Sense 4
sturdy, tough -- (substantially made or constructed; "sturdy steel shelves"; "sturdy canvas"; "a tough all-weather fabric"; "some plastics are as tough as metal")
       => rugged (vs. delicate) -- (sturdy and strong in constitution or construction; enduring; "with a house full of boys you have to have rugged furniture")

Sense 5
ruffianly, tough -- (violent and lawless; "the more ruffianly element"; "tough street gangs")
       => violent (vs. nonviolent) -- (acting with or marked by or resulting from great force or energy or emotional intensity; "a violent attack"; "a violent person"; "violent feelings"; "a violent rage"; "felt a violent dislike")

Sense 6
bad, tough -- (feeling physical discomfort or pain (`tough' is occasionally used colloquially for `bad'); "my throat feels bad"; "she felt bad all over"; "he was feeling tough after a restless night")
       => uncomfortable (vs. comfortable) -- (providing or experiencing physical discomfort; "an uncomfortable chair"; "an uncomfortable day in the hot sun")

Sense 7
tough (vs. tender) -- (resistant to cutting or chewing)
       => cartilaginous, gristly, rubbery -- (difficult to chew)
       => chewy -- (requiring much chewing)
       => coriaceous, leathered, leatherlike, leathery -- (resembling or made to resemble leather; tough but pliable)
       => fibrous, sinewy, stringy, unchewable -- ((of meat) full of sinews; especially impossible to chew)
       => hempen, fibrous -- (having or resembling fibers especially fibers used in making cordage such as those of jute)
       => tough-skinned -- (having a relatively tough outer covering)
          Also See-> inedible#1, uneatable#1

Sense 8
hard, tough -- (unfortunate or hard to bear; "had hard luck"; "a tough break")
       => bad (vs. good) -- (having undesirable or negative qualities; "a bad report card"; "his sloppy appearance made a bad impression"; "a bad little boy"; "clothes in bad shape"; "a bad cut"; "bad luck"; "the news was very bad"; "the reviews were bad"; "the pay is bad"; "it was a bad light for reading"; "the movie was a bad choice")

Sense 9
baffling, elusive, knotty, problematic, problematical, tough -- (making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe; "a baffling problem"; "I faced the knotty problem of what to have for breakfast"; "a problematic situation at home")
       => difficult (vs. easy), hard -- (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"; "why is it so hard for you to keep a secret?")