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Thick vs Hard - What's the difference?

thick | hard |

As nouns the difference between thick and hard

is that thick is the thickest, or most active or intense, part of something while hard is stove, heater; an enclosed space in which fuel (usually wood) is burned to provide heating, usually for cooking.

As an adjective thick

is relatively great in extent from one surface to the opposite in its smallest solid dimension.

As an adverb thick

is in a thick manner.

As a verb thick

is (archaic|transitive) to thicken.

thick

English

Adjective

(er)
  • Relatively great in extent from one surface to the opposite in its smallest solid dimension.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
  • , chapter=17 citation , passage=The face which emerged was not reassuring. It was blunt and grey, the nose springing thick and flat from high on the frontal bone of the forehead, whilst his eyes were narrow slits of dark in a tight bandage of tissue. […].}}
  • Measuring a certain number of units in this dimension.
  • Heavy in build; thickset.
  • * 2007 , James T. Knight, Queen of the Hustle
  • As she twirled around in front of the mirror admiring how the dress showed off her thick booty, she felt like a princess in a children's storybook.
  • Densely crowded or packed.
  • * , chapter=3
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=My hopes wa'n't disappointed. I never saw clams thicker than they was along them inshore flats. I filled my dreener in no time, and then it come to me that 'twouldn't be a bad idee to get a lot more, take 'em with me to Wellmouth, and peddle 'em out. Clams was fairly scarce over that side of the bay and ought to fetch a fair price.}}
  • Having a viscous consistency.
  • Abounding in number.
  • Impenetrable to sight.
  • Difficult to understand, or poorly articulated.
  • (informal) Stupid.
  • (informal) Friendly or intimate.
  • * T. Hughes
  • We have been thick ever since.
  • Deep, intense, or profound.
  • * Shakespeare
  • thick sleep

    Synonyms

    * (relatively great in extent from one surface to another) broad * (measuring a certain number of units in this dimension) * (heavy in build) chunky, solid, stocky, thickset * (densely crowded or packed) crowded, dense, packed * (having a viscous consistency) glutinous, viscous * (abounding in number) overflowing, swarming, teeming * (impenetrable to sight) dense, opaque, solid * (sense) unclear * dense, dumb (informal), stupid, thick as pigshit (taboo slang), thick as two short planks (slang) * (sense) chummy (qualifier), close, close-knit, friendly, pally (informal), intimate, tight-knit * great, extreme * See also

    Antonyms

    * (relatively great in extent from one surface to another) slim, thin * (heavy in build) slender, slight, slim, svelte, thin * (densely crowded or packed) sparse * (having a viscous consistency) free-flowing, runny * (abounding in number) * (impenetrable to sight) thin, transparent * (sense) clear, lucid * brainy (informal), intelligent, smart * (sense) unacquainted

    Derived terms

    * blood is thicker than water * thick and thin * thick as a brick * thick as a plank * thick as thieves * thick as two short planks * thicket * thickhead * thickish * thickly * thicko * thickness * thickset * thick-skinned * thick-un * thicky

    Adverb

    (er)
  • In a thick manner.
  • Snow lay thick on the ground.
  • Thickly.
  • Bread should be sliced thick to make toast.
  • Frequently; in great numbers.
  • The arrows flew thick and fast around us.

    Noun

    (-)
  • The thickest, or most active or intense, part of something.
  • It was mayhem in the thick of battle.
  • * Dryden
  • He through a little window cast his sight / Through thick of bars, that gave a scanty light.
  • A thicket.
  • * Drayton
  • gloomy thicks
  • * Spenser
  • Through the thick they heard one rudely rush.
  • A stupid person; a fool.
  • * 2014 , Joseph O'Connor, The Thrill of It All (page 100)
  • If there was doctorates in bollocksology and scratching yourself in bed, the two of you'd be professors by now. Pair of loafing, idle thicks .

    Derived terms

    * in the thick of * through thick and thin

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (archaic) To thicken.
  • The nightmare Life-in-death was she, / Who thicks man's blood with cold. — Coleridge.
    1000 English basic words

    hard

    English

    Adjective

    (er)
  • (label) Having a severe property; presenting difficulty.
  • # Resistant to pressure.
  • # (label) Strong.
  • # (label) High in dissolved calcium compounds.
  • # Having the capability of being a permanent magnet by being a material with high magnetic coercivity (compare soft).
  • (label) Having a severe property; presenting difficulty.
  • # Requiring a lot of effort to do or understand.
  • #* 1988 , An Oracle , Edmund White
  • Ray found it hard to imagine having accumulated so many mannerisms before the dawn of sex, of the sexual need to please, of the staginess sex encourages or the tightly capped wells of poisoned sexual desire the disappointed must stand guard over.
  • #*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-26, author= Nick Miroff
  • , volume=189, issue=7, page=32, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Mexico gets a taste for eating insects […] , passage=The San Juan market is Mexico City's most famous deli of exotic meats, where an adventurous shopper can hunt down hard -to-find critters such as ostrich, wild boar and crocodile.}}
  • # Demanding a lot of effort to endure.
  • # Severe, harsh, unfriendly, brutal.
  • # (label) Difficult to resist or control; powerful.
  • #* (w, Roger L'Estrange) (1616-1704)
  • The stag was too hard for the horse.
  • #* (Joseph Addison) (1672-1719)
  • a power which will be always too hard for them
  • Unquestionable.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=December 19, author=Kerry Brown, work=The Guardian
  • , title= Kim Jong-il obituary , passage=Unsurprisingly for a man who went into mourning for three years after the death in 1994 of his own father, the legendary leader Kim Il-sung, and who in the first 30 years of his political career made no public statements, even to his own people, Kim's career is riddled with claims, counter claims, speculation, and contradiction. There are few hard facts about his birth and early years. }}
  • (label) Having a comparatively larger or a ninety-degree angle.
  • Sexually aroused.
  • (label) Having muscles that are tightened as a result of intense, regular exercise.
  • (label)
  • # Plosive.
  • # Unvoiced
  • Hard' ''k'', ''t'', ''s'', ''ch'', as distinguished from '''soft , ''g'', ''d'', ''z'', ''j
  • (label) Having a severe property; presenting a barrier to enjoyment.
  • # Rigid in the drawing or distribution of the figures; formal; lacking grace of composition.
  • # Having disagreeable and abrupt contrasts in colour or shading.
  • (label) In the form of a hard copy.
  • We need both a digital archive and a hard archive.

    Synonyms

    * (resistant to pressure ): resistant, solid, stony * (requiring a lot of effort to do or understand ): confusing, difficult, puzzling, tough, tricky * (requiring a lot of effort to endure ): difficult, intolerable, tough, unbearable * (severe ): harsh, hostile, severe, strict, tough, unfriendly * (unquestionable ): incontrovertible, indubitable, unambiguous, unequivocal, unquestionable * (of drink ): strong * See also

    Antonyms

    * (resistant to pressure ): soft * (requiring a lot of effort to do or understand ): easy, simple, straightforward, trite * (requiring a lot of effort to endure ): bearable, easy * (severe ): agreeable, amiable, approachable, friendly, nice, pleasant * (unquestionable ): controvertible, doubtful, ambiguous, equivocal, questionable * (of drink ): ** (low in alcohol ): low-alcohol ** (non-alcoholic ): alcohol-free, soft, non-alcoholic * (of roads) soft * ("sexually aroused"): soft, flaccid

    Derived terms

    * between a rock and a hard place * die-hard * hard as nails * hard-ass * hardboard * hard-boiled * hard by * hard candy * hard case * hard cheese * hard-coded * hard copy * hardcore * hard disk/hard disc * hard done by * hard drink * hard-edged * harden * hard feelings * hard grass * hard hat * hard head * hard-hearted * hard-hitting * hard knocks * hard labor * hard light * hard-liner * hard lines * hard luck * hardness * hard news * hard-on * hard-pressed * hard radiation * hard sauce * hard science fiction * hard-shell * hard times * hard to come by * hard to please * hard up * hardware * hard water * hard-wire * hardwood * hard work * have it hard * play hard to get * (hard)

    Adverb

    (er)
  • (manner) With much force or effort.
  • He hit the puck hard up the ice.
    They worked hard all week.
    At the intersection, bear hard left.
    The recession hit them especially hard .
    Think hard about your choices.
  • * Dryden
  • prayed so hard for mercy from the prince
  • * Shakespeare
  • My father / Is hard at study; pray now, rest yourself.
  • *
  • (manner) With difficulty.
  • His degree was hard earned.
    The vehicle moves hard .
  • (obsolete) So as to raise difficulties.
  • * Sir Thomas Browne
  • The question is hard set.
  • (manner) Compactly.
  • The lake had finally frozen hard .
  • Near, close.
  • * Bible, Acts xviii. 7
  • whose house joined hard to the synagogue
  • * 1999 , (George RR Martin), A Clash of Kings , Bantam 2011, p. 418:
  • It was another long day's march before they glimpsed the towers of Harrenhal in the distance, hard beside the blue waters of the lake.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (nautical) A firm or paved beach or slope convenient for hauling vessels out of the water