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Strength vs Tough - What's the difference?

strength | tough |

As nouns the difference between strength and tough

is that strength is the quality or degree of being strong while tough is a person who obtains things by force; a thug or bully.

As verbs the difference between strength and tough

is that strength is (obsolete) to give strength to; to strengthen while tough is to endure.

As an adjective tough is

strong and resilient; sturdy.

As an interjection tough is

(slang) (used to indicate lack of sympathy).

strength

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • The quality or degree of being strong.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • Our castle's strength will laugh a siege to scorn.
  • * , chapter=5
  • , title= The Mirror and the Lamp , passage=He was thinking; but the glory of the song, the swell from the great organ, the clustered lights, […], the height and vastness of this noble fane, its antiquity and its strength —all these things seemed to have their part as causes of the thrilling emotion that accompanied his thoughts.}}
  • The intensity of a force or power; potency.
  • * 1699 , , Heads designed for an essay on conversations
  • Study gives strength to the mind; conversation, grace: the first apt to give stiffness, the other suppleness: one gives substance and form to the statue, the other polishes it.
  • The strongest part of something; that on which confidence or reliance is based.
  • * Bible, (Psalms) xlvi. 1
  • God is our refuge and strength .
  • * (Jeremy Taylor) (1613–1677)
  • Certainly there is not a greater strength against temptation.
  • A positive attribute.
  • (obsolete) A strong place; a stronghold.
  • (Shakespeare)

    Synonyms

    * fortitude * power * ability * capability * potency * expertise

    Antonyms

    * (The quality of being strong) weakness * (A positive attribute) weakness

    Derived terms

    * bond strength * compressive strength * crushing strength * dielectic strength * fatigue strength * field strength * full-strength * impact strength * industrial-strength * inner strength * ionic strength * party strength * pillar of strength * relative strength * shear strength * strengthen * strengthening * strengthful * strengthless * strengthy * superstrength * tensile strength * tower of strength * ultimate strength * understrength * wet strength * yield strength

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (obsolete) To give strength to; to strengthen.
  • * 1395 , (John Wycliffe), Bible , Job IV:
  • Lo! thou hast tau?t ful many men, and thou hast strengthid hondis maad feynt.
    (Chaucer)

    tough

    English

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Strong and resilient; sturdy.
  • The tent, made of tough canvas, held up to many abuses.
  • (of food) Difficult to cut or chew.
  • To soften a tough cut of meat, the recipe suggested simmering it for hours.
  • Rugged or physically hardy.
  • Only a tough species will survive in the desert.
  • Stubborn.
  • He had a reputation as a tough negotiator.
  • (of weather etc) Harsh or severe.
  • Rowdy or rough.
  • A bunch of the tough boys from the wrong side of the tracks threatened him.
  • Difficult or demanding.
  • This is a tough crowd.
  • (material science) Undergoing plastic deformation before breaking.
  • Derived terms

    * do it tough * hang tough * supertough * tough call * tough case * tough cookie * tough crowd * tough love * tough luck * tough-minded * tough nut to crack * tough row to hoe * tough shit * tough titty * tough toodles * tough tuchus * toughen * toughie * toughish * toughly * toughness * toughy * ultratough *

    Interjection

    (en interjection)
  • (slang) (Used to indicate lack of sympathy)
  • If you don't like it, tough !

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A person who obtains things by force; a thug or bully.
  • They were doing fine until they encountered a bunch of toughs from the opposition.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To endure.
  • To toughen.
  • Derived terms

    * tough it out * tough out

    Anagrams

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