<p><strong>Adjective:</strong></p><ul><li>tougher</li><li>toughest</li><li>strong and durable; not easily broken or cut.</li><li>difficult to masticate, as food: a tough steak.</li><li>of viscous consistency, as liquid or semiliquid matter: tough molasses.</li><li>capable of great endurance; sturdy; hardy: tough troops.</li><li>not easily influenced, as a person; unyielding; stubborn: a tough man to work for.</li><li>hardened; incorrigible: a tough criminal.</li><li>difficult to perform, accomplish, or deal with; hard, trying, or troublesome: a tough problem.</li><li>hard to bear or endure (often used ironically): tough luck.</li><li>vigorous; severe; violent: a tough struggle.</li><li>vicious; rough; rowdyish: a tough character; a tough neighborhood.</li><li>practical, realistic, and lacking in sentimentality; tough-minded.</li><li>remarkably excellent; first-rate; great.</li></ul><p><strong>Adverb:</strong></p><ul><li>in a tough manner.</li></ul><p><strong>Noun:</strong></p><ul><li>a ruffian; rowdy.</li></ul>