tough

1. (of a material) Strong and resilient; sturdy.Examples: "The tent, made of tough canvas, held up to many abuses."Synonyms: robust, stout, adamantine, concrete, firm, granitic, grim, hard

2. (of food) Difficult to cut or chew.Examples: "To soften a tough cut of meat, the recipe suggested simmering it for hours."Synonyms: unchewable

3. (of a person or animal) Rugged or physically hardy.Examples: "Only a tough species will survive in the desert."; "But before you quit turkey hunting and take up model-train collecting, let me give you the good news: you can score on tough turkeys. In fact, you can kill the toughest turkey in the woods."Synonyms: hardy, robust, vigorous

4. (of a person) Stubborn or persistent; capable of stubbornness or persistence.Examples: "He had a reputation as a tough negotiator."Synonyms: hardheaded, tenacious, adamant, ardent, bent on, bloody-minded, bullheaded, certain

5. (of weather, etc.) Harsh or severe.Synonyms: inclementusually

6. (of questions, etc.) Difficult or demanding.Examples: "This is a tough crowd."; "1998, Lois Liederman Davitz, Joel Robert Davitz, 20 Tough Questions Teenagers Ask and 20 Tough Answers, Paulist Press, pages 6-7, But let's get back to the tough question about sex before marriage. And this is a tough question. In fact we would rank the question you've both raised as pretty high on our list of tough questions."; "Anderson: We fought hard to get here. But now the toughest part of our mission begins. Anderson: We've got to drive right through the heart of Reaper-controlled territory, break past their defenses, and get to that beacon."Synonyms: challenging, hard, arduous, challenging, nasty, difficult, effortful, hardusually