a. [ Compar. Harder superl. Hardest. ] [ OE. hard, heard, AS. heard; akin to OS. & D. hard, G. hart, OHG. herti, harti, Icel. harðr, Dan. haard, Sw. hård, 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&rsdot_; 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 ]

v. t. To harden; to make hard. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A ford or passage across a river or swamp. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ OE. harde, AS. hearde. ] 1. With pressure; with urgency; hence, diligently; earnestly. [ 1913 Webster ]

And prayed so hard for mercy from the prince. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

My father
Is hard at study; pray now, rest yourself. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. With difficulty; as, the vehicle moves hard. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Uneasily; vexatiously; slowly. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. So as to raise difficulties. “The question is hard set.” Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. With tension or strain of the powers; violently; with force; tempestuously; vehemently; vigorously; energetically; as, to press, to blow, to rain hard; hence, rapidly; nimbly; as, to run hard. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Close or near. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whose house joined hard to the synagogue. Acts xviii. 7. [ 1913 Webster ]

Hard by,
near by; close at hand; not far off. “Hard by a cottage chimney smokes.” Milton. --
Hard pushed,
Hard run, greatly pressed; as, he was hard pushed or hard run for time, money, etc. [ Colloq. ] --
Hard up, closely pressed by want or necessity; without money or resources; as, hard up for amusements. [ Slang ] [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Hard in nautical language is often joined to words of command to the helmsman, denoting that the order should be carried out with the utmost energy, or that the helm should be put, in the direction indicated, to the extreme limit, as, Hard aport! Hard astarboard! Hard alee! Hard aweather! Hard up!
Hard is also often used in composition with a participle; as, hard-baked; hard-earned; hard-featured; hard-working; hard-won. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. invariable; firmly established; as, hard-and-fast regulations.
Syn. -- strict. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. A person who strictly enforces rules and regulations. [ vulgar slang ] [ PJC ]

n. A book with cardboard or cloth or leather covers; a hardcover book. Compare paperback.
Syn. -- hardcover. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. A sweetmeat of boiled brown sugar or molasses made with almonds, and flavored with orange or lemon juice, etc. Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. baked until hard. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (Bot.) A tree of the genus Carpinus, of compact, horny texture; hornbeam. [ 1913 Webster ]