Hardest

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Hard \Hard\ (h[aum]rd), a. [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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Difficult, mentally or judicially; not easily apprehended,
        decided, or resolved; as a hard problem.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The hard causes they brought unto Moses. --Ex.
                                                    xviii. 26.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              In which are some things hard to be understood. --2
                                                    Peter iii. 16.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Difficult to accomplish; full of obstacles; laborious;
        fatiguing; arduous; as, a hard task; a disease hard to
        cure.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. Difficult to resist or control; powerful.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The stag was too hard for the horse.  --L'Estrange.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              A power which will be always too hard for them.
                                                    --Addison.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              I never could drive a hard bargain.   --Burke.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     6. Difficult to please or influence; stern; unyielding;
        obdurate; unsympathetic; unfeeling; cruel; as, a hard
        master; a hard heart; hard words; a hard character.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     7. Not easy or agreeable to the taste; harsh; stiff; rigid;
        ungraceful; repelling; as, a hard style.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Figures harder than even the marble itself.
                                                    --Dryden.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     8. Rough; acid; sour, as liquors; as, hard cider.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     10. Wanting softness or smoothness of utterance; harsh; as, a
         hard tone.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
             [1913 Webster]
  
     {Hard cancer}, {Hard case}, etc. See under {Cancer}, {Case},
        etc.
  
     {Hard clam}, or {Hard-shelled clam} (Zool.), 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} (Zool.), 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}.
          [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  hardest
       See {hard}

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  hard
       adj 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"
       adv 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}]