How to Use the hard way in a Sentence

the hard way

noun
  • Hood learned that the hard way.
    — Preston Fore, Fortune, 11 May 2026
  • Uber learned this the hard way.
    — Darrin Lipscomb, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
  • The guy earned it the hard way.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 4 Aug. 2025
  • The dads have learned this the hard way.
    — Natalie Escobar, NPR, 12 May 2026
  • The ones that do not will find out the hard way.
    — Lyssanoel Frater, USA Today, 29 Apr. 2026
  • George Retes learned that the hard way.
    — Los Angeles Times, 14 Jan. 2026
  • Aaron Glenn found that out the hard way.
    — Zack Rosenblatt, New York Times, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Could be done the hard way, could be done the easy way.
    — CBS News, 10 May 2026
  • Seth Wayne found that out the hard way.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 23 Apr. 2026
  • Rich and John learned that the hard way.
    — Donie O'Sullivan, CNN Money, 6 June 2026
  • Semenyo had to do things the hard way.
    — Michael Cox, New York Times, 17 May 2026
  • My student learned that the hard way.
    — Suzy Welch, CNBC, 27 Aug. 2025
  • Someone who found this out the hard way?
    — Elise Taylor, Vanity Fair, 3 Mar. 2026
  • Amazon learned this the hard way.
    — Maxime Legardez Coquin, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
  • This can be done the easy way, or it can be done the hard way.
    — Alex Gangitano, The Hill, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Some brands have learnt that lesson the hard way.
    — Karen Gilchrist, CNBC, 11 Sep. 2025
  • The one who learned the hard way that truth is freedom.
    — Kayla Grant, PEOPLE, 18 May 2026
  • Most found out the hard way that the modern web fights back.
    — Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 8 June 2026
  • Machado found out the hard way that the pitch clock works both ways.
    — Bernie Wilson, BostonGlobe.com, 24 Feb. 2023
  • Pam Bondi learned it the hard way.
    — Steve Bousquet, Sun Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2026
  • Caleb Kilian learned that the hard way.
    — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 30 May 2026
  • This can be done the easy way or it can be done the hard way, but it must be done.
    — Robert Birsel, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Mitski learned the hard way not to cross a cat.
    — Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 26 Feb. 2026
  • Things got even worse when Mary learned the hard way that these bugs were biters.
    — Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 28 Nov. 2023
  • China may have learned this lesson the hard way.
    — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 10 June 2026
  • Newbies always have to learn the hard way.
    — Ahmir “questlove” Thompson, VIBE.com, 7 June 2026
  • Before the market does it the hard way.
    — Rakesh Kumar, Fortune, 30 May 2026
  • Liverpool found out the hard way what a bad idea that is.
    — Liam Tharme, New York Times, 31 May 2026
  • Other states and cities have learned this lesson the hard way.
    — Andrew Rigie, New York Daily News, 2 Jan. 2026
  • Julian, like so many before him, learns this the hard way.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'the hard way.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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