We All Have Favorite Words, but …

are you having a hard time deleting extraneous occurrences of hard from your work in progress? Or have you found misleading sentences containing hard?

Help is here.

Definition of Hard

Without mentioning hard alcohol or physically fit bodies, the four most frequent definitions of hard when used as an adjective are the following.

hard (1): solid

People might refer to rocks or metal as hard.

hard (2): difficult

You might consider a situation or problem hard.

hard (3): strict

Employees might describe a boss as a hard taskmaster.

hard (4): powerful

Someone might give a stubborn door a hard kick to open it.

For most of this post, we’ll look at the first two definitions, which produce the most frequent (usually temporary) misinterpretations.

Imagine This Conversation

“He said it was hard.”

“What? The stone he tripped over?”

“No. The Rubik’s cube he was trying to solve while he was jogging.”

Any sentences that start with the following phrases could be misinterpreted.

It was a hard _____

It is hard _____

It could be hard _____

Note that the examples incorporate forms of the verb to be, and hard could be interpreted as either rocklike or difficult — unless context is clear or until readers get further into each sentence.

Idioms Are Usually Understandable

However, if you’re trying to reduce instances of hard in your WIP, you can almost always rewrite idioms. Replace them with different phrases, or create new ones.

muscles as hard as [iron, rock, nails, stone]: brick biceps, a cement chest, a granite torso, impervious pecs, rock-solid muscles, a steely six-pack, washboard abs

A good man is hard to find: Good men are [in short supply, rare, scarce].

a hard act to follow: a challenging [exploit, performance], an exemplary [maneuver, stunt], a formidable [achievement, venture]

a hard bargain: a difficult [arrangement, deal, transaction], a challenging [compromise, conciliation], a tough [collaboration, negotiation]

a hard case: a [cynic, doubter, pessimist, sceptic, toughie]

a hard egg to crack: abstruse, difficult to understand, incomprehensible, obscure, unclear

a hard pill to swallow: [a necessary, an unavoidable] [complication, difficulty, nuisance, problem, snag, unpleasantness]

hard luck: adversity, hardship, misadventure, misery, misfortune, mishap, setback, tragedy, tribulation

hard done-by: cheated, ill-treated, mistreated, oppressed, victimized, wronged

hard-pressed: beleaguered, burdened, in a tight spot, overextended, overloaded, overwhelmed, overworked, struggling

hard up: broke, destitute, impoverished, indigent, needy, penniless, poor, strapped

between a rock and a hard place: baffled, cornered, in a [dilemma, predicament, quandary], puzzled, stuck, stumped, trapped

Speaking of Rocklike …

We expect rocks to be hard, so sentences like the following will mislead readers for a microsecond.

The rock was hard to distinguish from the mud.

The example combines a to be verb with our expectations of a rock’s physical properties.

Better:

The rock was difficult to distinguish from the mud.

The rock was indistinguishable from the mud.

More Synonyms for Hard When Used as an Adjective

hard (1): durable, firm, frozen, rigid, rocklike, solid, stiff, tough, unbreakable, unyielding

hard (2): awkward, difficult, problematic, tricky, demanding

hard (3): brutal, cruel, callous, severe, strict, tough, unkind

hard (4): fierce, formidable, intense, powerful, relentless, violent

hard (5); acidic, alcoholic, bitter, distilled, mineralized

hard (6): hardy, in shape, physically fit, robust, sculpted, tough

hard (7): clear-cut, crystal-clear, definite, explicit, factual, firm

hard (8): inequitable, intolerable, oppressive

More Synonyms for Hard When Used as an Adverb

hard (1): doggedly, fiercely, persistently, strenuously, tirelessly

hard (2): disappointedly, dismally, dejectedly, dolefully, gloomily

hard (3): firmly, rigidly, securely, snugly, tightly

hard by: adjoining, at hand, close [by, to], in the vicinity, near