tough (n.)
- acute
- adamant
- adherent
- adhesive
- aged
- ancient
- antique
- astringent
- authoritarian
- bad
- battler
- beast
- beldam
- belligerent
- berserk
- berserker
- blade
- bomber
- bony
- boss
- bravo
- brawler
- bruiser
- brute
- bully
- bullyboy
- burly
- cement
- cold
- colossus
- combatant
- competitor
- complex
- concrete
- constant
- contender
- contestant
- cool
- crackerjack
- cramp
- crushing
- cutting
- dandy
- delicious
- demon
- dense
- devil
- disputant
- dour
- dragon
- ducky
- duelist
- dure
- enforcer
- evergreen
- extreme
- fab
- fencer
- fiend
- fighter
- fire-eater
- firebrand
- firm
- fury
- game
- gamecock
- gamy
- gear
- giant
- gladiator
- goon
- gorilla
- great
- grim
- gritty
- gumbo
- gummy
- gun
- hard
- hardy
- heavy
- hellcat
- hellhound
- hellion
- hood
- hoodlum
- hooligan
- hot
- hothead
- hotspur
- icy
- incendiary
- keen
- killer
- killing
- knight
- lasting
- madcap
- marble
- mean
- militant
- monster
- mug
- mugger
- narrow
- neat
- okay
- pasty
- peachy
- perennial
- permanent
- plug-ugly
- powerhouse
- punk
- quarreler
- rapist
- refractory
- resistant
- revolutionary
- rigid
- rioter
- ripping
- rival
- ropy
- rough
- roughneck
- rowdy
- ruffian
- rum
- savage
- scrapper
- sharp
- smashing
- solid
- sound
- spitfire
- splitting
- squabbler
- stable
- stalwart
- steady
- steep
- stern
- stiff
- stout
- strict
- stringent
- strong
- strong-armer
- struggler
- swashbuckler
- swell
- sword
- swordsman
- termagant
- terror
- terrorist
- thick
- thug
- tiger
- tigress
- tilter
- torpedo
- uphill
- virago
- viscose
- vital
- vixen
- witch
- wizard
- wolf
- wrangler
- yahoo
tough (adj.)
- abiding
- abstruse
- acute
- adamant
- adamantine
- adherent
- adhesive
- aged
- amylaceous
- ancient
- antique
- arbitrary
- arduous
- astringent
- athletic
- austere
- authoritarian
- backbreaking
- bad
- baffling
- bang-up
- belligerent
- berserk
- bony
- bonzer
- boss
- brawny
- brutal
- brute
- bulky
- bullheaded
- bully
- burdensome
- burly
- callous
- cartilaginous
- chewy
- chronic
- clammy
- clotted
- coagulated
- cohesive
- cold
- combatant
- complex
- complicated
- concrete
- confirmed
- constant
- continuing
- cool
- coriaceous
- corking
- corneous
- crabbed
- critical
- crushing
- curdled
- cutting
- dandy
- delicate
- delicious
- demanding
- dense
- devil
- difficult
- doughy
- dour
- drastic
- durable
- effortful
- enduring
- evergreen
- exacting
- excessive
- exigent
- exorbitant
- extravagant
- extreme
- fab
- fibrous
- fierce
- firm
- fixed
- flinty
- forced
- formidable
- furious
- game
- gamy
- garbled
- gear
- gelatinous
- giant
- gluey
- glutinous
- gooey
- granitelike
- granitic
- great
- grim
- gristly
- gritty
- groovy
- grueling
- grumous
- gummy
- gutsy
- hairy
- hard
- hard-bitten
- hard-boiled
- hard-fought
- hard-line
- hard-nosed
- hardened
- hardhearted
- hardy
- harsh
- heavy
- hefty
- horny
- hot
- hunky-dory
- icy
- immoderate
- immutable
- incendiary
- inflexible
- intemperate
- intense
- intractable
- intrepid
- intricate
- inured
- inveterate
- irksome
- ironlike
- jelled
- jellied
- jellylike
- jumbled
- keen
- killing
- knotted
- knotty
- labored
- laborious
- lasting
- leatherlike
- leathery
- long-lasting
- long-lived
- long-standing
- long-term
- macrobiotic
- madcap
- manly
- massive
- mean
- meticulous
- mettlesome
- militant
- mucilaginous
- mug
- mugger
- muscular
- mystifying
- narrow
- neat
- nervy
- nifty
- nobby
- obdurate
- obscure
- obstinate
- okay
- onerous
- operose
- oppressive
- osseous
- outrageous
- painful
- pasty
- peachy
- perdurable
- perennial
- permanent
- perpetual
- perplexed
- perplexing
- persistent
- persisting
- pertinacious
- piercing
- plucky
- powerful
- procrustean
- punishing
- punk
- puzzling
- red-blooded
- refractory
- remaining
- resistant
- resistive
- resolute
- revolutionary
- rigid
- rigorous
- ripping
- rocklike
- rocky
- ropy
- rough
- rowdy
- rugged
- rum
- savage
- scrambled
- scrumptious
- severe
- sharp
- sinewy
- slap-up
- slimy
- slithery
- smashing
- solid
- sound
- spiffing
- spiffy
- spiny
- spirited
- splitting
- spunky
- stable
- stalwart
- starchy
- steadfast
- steady
- steely
- steep
- stern
- sticky
- stiff
- stodgy
- stonelike
- stony
- stout
- strained
- strapping
- strenuous
- strict
- stringent
- stringy
- strong
- stubborn
- stunning
- sturdy
- substantial
- swell
- syrupy
- tacky
- taut
- taxing
- tenacious
- terror
- terrorist
- thick
- thickened
- thorny
- ticklish
- toilsome
- tricky
- troublesome
- unalterable
- unbending
- unbreakable
- uncaring
- uncompromising
- unconscionable
- underprivileged
- unfading
- unfeeling
- unsentimental
- unsparing
- unsympathetic
- untiring
- unyielding
- uphill
- vehement
- venomous
- vigorous
- violent
- virile
- virulent
- viscid
- viscous
- vital
- wearisome
- well-founded
- well-grounded
- well-made
- wicked
- wiry
- wizard
He's tough, ma'am,—tough is J. B.; tough and devilish sly.
Look for a tough wedge for a tough log.
Vex not his ghost: O, let him pass! he hates him much
That would upon the rack of this tough world
Stretch him out longer.
