different between doggedly vs tough

English

Etymology

dogged +? -ly

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /?d???dli/
• (UK) IPA^(key): /?d???dli/

Adverb

doggedly (comparative more doggedly, superlative most doggedly)

1. In a way that is stubbornly persistent.
   • 1820, Washington Irving, "The Early Experiences of Ralph Ringwood" in The Crayon Papers:

     I grew moody, silent, and unsocial, but studied on doggedly and incessantly.

   • 1983, Paul Simon, "Train in the Distance":

     She was married to someone.

     He was doggedly determined he would get her.

   • 2010 Dec. 9, Ishaan Tharoor, "Obama's Quagmire II: The Economy," Time (retrieved 28 April 2014):

     Unemployment hovered doggedly near 10%.

2. (dated) sullenly, gloomily
   • 1785, James Boswell: The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson, LL.D.:

     'Nay,' said Dr Johnson, 'a man may write at any time, if he will set himself DOGGEDLY to it.' [Footnote: This word is commonly used to signify sullenly, gloomily and in that sense alone it appears in Dr Johnson's Dictionary. I suppose he meant by it 'with an OBSTINATE RESOLUTION, similar to that of a sullen man'.]

Translations

English

Etymology

From Middle English tough, towgh, tou, to?, from Old English t?h (“tough, tenacious, holding fast together; pliant; sticky, glutinous, clammy”), from Proto-West Germanic *t??h(?), from Proto-Germanic *tanhuz (“fitting; clinging; tenacious; tough”), from Proto-Indo-European *den?- (“to bite”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: t?f, IPA^(key): /t?f/
• Rhymes: -?f
• Homophone: tuff

Adjective

tough (comparative tougher, superlative toughest)

1. Strong and resilient; sturdy.

   The tent, made of tough canvas, held up to many abuses.

2. (of food) Difficult to cut or chew.

   To soften a tough cut of meat, the recipe suggested simmering it for hours.

3. Rugged or physically hardy.

   Only a tough species will survive in the desert.

4. Stubborn.

   He had a reputation as a tough negotiator.

5. (of weather etc) Harsh or severe.
6. Rowdy or rough.

   A bunch of the tough boys from the wrong side of the tracks threatened him.

7. (of questions, etc.) Difficult or demanding.

   This is a tough crowd.

8. (material science) Undergoing plastic deformation before breaking.

Derived terms

Translations

Interjection

tough

1. (slang) Used to indicate lack of sympathy

   If you don't like it, tough!

Translations

Noun

tough (plural toughs)

1. A person who obtains things by force; a thug or bully.

Translations

Verb

tough (third-person singular simple present toughs, present participle toughing, simple past and past participle toughed)

1. To endure.
2. To toughen.

Derived terms

• tough out

Translations

Anagrams

• ought

German

Etymology

From English tough; see also German taff.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /taf/

Adjective

tough (comparative tougher, superlative am toughsten or am toughesten)

1. (slang) Alternative form of taff (“tough; robust; assertive and not overly sensitive”)

Declension

declension with am toughsten

declension with am toughesten

Further reading

• “tough” in Duden online

Middle English

Noun

tough

1. Alternative form of tow