How to Use tough in a Sentence

tough

1 of 4 adjective
  • Are you tough enough for the job?
  • She had a tough time in college.
  • He's been hanging around with a bunch of tough guys.
  • The rug is made of tough material.
  • Nacre is both strong and tough.
    — Caitlin Kennedy, Scientific American, 25 Apr. 2026
  • City have some tough games left.
    — Mark Carey, New York Times, 4 May 2026
  • The tough talk doesn’t stop there.
    — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 22 Jan. 2026
  • Yeah, those four months were tough.
    — Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 30 Sep. 2025
  • That’s tough to come back from.
    — Jason Beede, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Award shows are in a tough place right now.
    — Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 7 June 2026
  • Does that get tough to hear over and over again?
    — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Jan. 2026
  • This stretch, though, looks quite a bit tougher.
    — Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 16 Sep. 2025
  • But Jose was tough on those kids.
    — Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 13 June 2026
  • Okay, fine, tough day for Calv.
    — Emma Specter, Vogue, 5 Mar. 2026
  • It's been a tough few weeks for Richard.
    — Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 8 June 2026
  • The Nets’ night got even tougher from there.
    — C.j. Holmes, New York Daily News, 11 Mar. 2026
  • There are so many things, and there are some that are so tough.
    — Hemal Jhaveri, WIRED, 29 Feb. 2024
  • Some mothers are tough to shop for.
    — Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 2 May 2026
  • We are faced with a tough tradeoff.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
  • And so she was given a very tough task.
    — Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025
  • That was the toughest thing to watch.
    — Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2026
  • That is going to be very tough to beat.
    — Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 15 June 2026
  • That’s the tough part of today.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 6 June 2026
  • That's a tough pill to swallow.
    — Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 8 Apr. 2026
  • Arvidsson might be an even tougher guess.
    — Steve Conroy, Boston Herald, 2 May 2026
  • Next game’s going to be tougher.
    — Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 19 Apr. 2026
  • Kristine had a crazy tough-love phase.
    — Rachel Handler, Vulture, 18 May 2026
  • Koenen said things are even tougher this year.
    — Natasha Chen, CNN Money, 25 May 2026
  • Grace was so much tougher in the first one, and so much more fun.
    — Michael Ordoña, San Francisco Chronicle, 18 Mar. 2026
  • Her tough-guy act doesn’t always work.
    — Jesse Dorris, Pitchfork, 25 Feb. 2026

tough

2 of 4 adverb
  • He talks tough but he's not really dangerous.
  • Trump's been talking tough on it for 40 years!
    — Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 19 June 2026
  • Dias, known for his no-nonsense/ tough-talking style, has led the union for nine years.
    — Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 17 Feb. 2022
  • But Izzo hung tough to strand six runners.
    — Tony Baranek, Chicago Tribune, 22 Apr. 2026
  • Floyd was caught in the grips of America’s tough-on-crime era.
    — Washington Post, 19 Oct. 2020
  • Plus, of course, those drawn to such a tough-looking truck for lifestyle reasons.
    — Mike Duff, Car and Driver, 1 July 2020
  • The cold air hangs tough over the area, with highs mainly in the lower 40s.
    — David Streit, Washington Post, 25 Jan. 2018
  • Harris played tough but lost another one-on-one late in the fourth quarter.
    — Ellis L. Williams, cleveland, 28 Dec. 2020
  • Yo influence has entered the people’s veins so tough back at home and across the world.
    — Rasha Ali, USA TODAY, 16 Aug. 2020
  • In response, many Democrats are touting their own tough-on-crime message.
    — Time, 3 Nov. 2022
  • But, in the meantime, maybe tough-on-crime politicians should stop blaming the victim.
    — Erika D. Smithcolumnist, Los Angeles Times, 25 Sep. 2022
  • That made getting information in the bond market tough even for traders.
    — Stephen Gandel, CBS News, 20 Feb. 2020
  • Kids were obsessed and viewed McCurdy as their own tough-as-nails best friend.
    — Ashley Spencer, Washington Post, 5 Aug. 2022
  • The Lancers hung tough against the Beavers and led 45-39 at halftime.
    — oregonlive, 17 Nov. 2021
  • It’s built tough with a durable titanium body and a big, bright display that’s easy to read even in sunlight.
    — PC Magazine, 1 Dec. 2025
  • Much of his final year focused on a replay of Richard Nixon's tough-on-crime rhetoric.
    — Julian Zelizer, CNN, 23 June 2021
  • By the 1990s, both major parties had adopted tough-on-crime stances.
    — Washington Post, 19 Oct. 2020
  • The activists rejected putting the pain of survivors at the service of tough-on-crime policies.
    — New York Times, 17 Nov. 2021
  • The Celtics hung tough in Game 1, leading by 12 in the first half, but succumbed.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 31 May 2021
  • The fit and cut as exceptional, and the light, soft fabric has held up tough against cold, wet conditions.
    — Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 15 Dec. 2025
  • It’s built tough with water resistance for pool days or unexpected rain.
    — PC Magazine, 13 Oct. 2025
  • Springer, a tough-looking Kiwi with a salt-and-pepper beard, was one of the managers of the program.
    — Simon Willis, Travel + Leisure, 14 Dec. 2021
  • To their credit, the young Rockets hung tough against a team with title aspirations.
    — Rahat Huq, Chron, 27 Oct. 2021
  • The tough-talking leader repeated his death threats to drug lords preying on young Filipinos.
    — Jim Gomez, Star Tribune, 1 June 2021
  • Atlanta hung tough without Young against the Raptors but couldn’t come up with the critical plays down the stretch.
    — Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 4 Feb. 2022
  • The brash language is not unusual for Duterte, a tough-talking populist who is most known for a bloody war on drugs that has left thousands dead.
    — Washington Post, 22 June 2021
  • The Blazers hung tough in the first quarter, falling behind 34-29.
    — oregonlive, 27 Dec. 2021
  • Meanwhile, Biden was passing the 1994 bill that furthered the era's tough-on-crime policies.
    — Kathleen Ronayne, Star Tribune, 31 July 2020
  • Will Cortez Masto’s tough-on-crime credentials be enough to return her to the Senate?
    — Paul Begala, CNN, 19 Oct. 2022
  • In the end Blake and Katie rose above tough-talking family members and proposal nerves and got engaged.
    — Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 10 Aug. 2021

tough

3 of 4 noun
  • And Susan Collins, as Democrats have seen time and time again, is a real tough out.
    — NBC news, 21 June 2026
  • Buddhist toughs threatened taxi drivers and merchants from Kargil, telling them they weren’t allowed to work in Leh.
    — Suhasini Raj and Jeffrey Gettleman, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2017
  • Temple toughs threatened Kinsolving’s bosses and the series was cut.
    — Barton Swaim, WSJ, 28 Dec. 2018
  • Overcharging the group seemed like a political move to boost his reelection as a tough on crime prosecutor.
    — Dahleen Glanton, chicagotribune.com, 7 Nov. 2019
  • The fish has a tough, albeit flexible, inner layer bound by collagen to mineralize the outer layer of scales.
    — Fox News, 18 Oct. 2019
  • An immaculate white convertible — the BMW of its day — and well out of the reach of a pack of teenage Orange toughs.
    — Longreads, 16 June 2018
  • Meanwhile, a running back on the underdog 49ers will find the sledding tough on the ground, providing gamblers with a desirable rushing under to bet.
    — Josh Shepardson, Forbes.com, 16 Jan. 2026
  • Cazale played the title character, an older man who becomes lost in Manhattan and is harassed by two young toughs, one of whom was portrayed by Pacino.
    — René Ostberg, Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Mar. 2026
  • The gangland drama is deeper and darker than the domestic one, strengthened by the unexpected portrayal of the Russian toughs as bumbling in their own way.
    — Sheldon Pearce, New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2026
  • The local toughs, led by the sadistic Ace Merrill (Kiefer Sutherland), are headed the same way, albeit for different reasons.
    — Sezin Devi Koehler September 1, EW.com, 1 Sep. 2025
  • Martinez-Valdez, prosecutors say, was a street tough who earned a lucrative living by stepping into the sophisticated economic crime.
    — David Ovalle, miamiherald, 12 Jan. 2018
  • At one point, toughs from a drug-trafficking gang called Loyal To Familia arrived on motorbikes looking for members of Brothas, a rival group.
    — The Economist, 28 Nov. 2019
  • The schedule turns more difficult in Week 3 by an order of magnitude with trips to Texas Tech and Oregon and then a sneaky-tough home date with Houston.
    — Jon Wilner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2025
  • These teams — there are precisely two in the series, vaguely rivalrous, unequally enlightened — are the tough who get going when the going gets too tough for the ordinary weapons and tactics of ordinary police officers.
    — Robert Lloyd, latimes.com, 2 Nov. 2017
  • In that version, the character is played by Joe Don Baker, the great character actor known for playing toughs in films like Walking Tall (1973) and Fletch (1985).
    — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 5 June 2026
  • So, while Rue and Maddy are confabbing over milkshakes in a diner, Alamo sends Rue off for a drive with his two toughs, G (Marshawn Lynch) and the icy Bishop (Darrell Britt-Gibson).
    — Marlow Stern, Variety, 11 May 2026
  • The Bookie & The Bruiser is set in 1959 New York City and features a pensive Jewish fellow named Rivner (James) and an oversized Italian-American tough named Boscolo (Vaughn).
    — Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 4 May 2026

tough

4 of 4 verb
  • Should they be denied pain relief and told to tough it out?
    — Tami S. Rowen, The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2025
  • Physicians told them to tough out the joint pain and brain fog that comes with menopause.
    — Laura Trujillo, USA Today, 30 June 2026
  • But the fans, like this team, had to tough it out Saturday.
    — Michael Marot, Chicago Tribune, 25 Jan. 2026
  • Golden State, meanwhile, can possibly tough out a Play-In run and save face in a quasi-competitive first-round series.
    — John Hollinger, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2026
  • No need to tough it out, though—there are plenty of duffel bags on the market that double as comfy carry-on backpacks, removing the unnecessary pain of single-shoulder straps.
    — Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 27 Nov. 2025
  • Not perfect communication, of course, but just enough openness and empathy to give yourself and your partner a way to tough out difficult conversations.
    — Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
  • Wilson went down after attempting to catch a pass late in the fourth quarter, which forced him to miss the final snap of the game despite attempting to tough it out earlier in the team's final possession.
    — Reice Shipley, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
  • While some 200 unhoused people chose to get into a shelter last night in South Florida, Warrick decided to tough it out.
    — Ted Scouten, CBS News, 31 Dec. 2025
  • Tylenol and the pressure to 'tough it out' Medical experts and scholars worry that the recent claims about Tylenol put pregnant women and families in a difficult bind.
    — Juliana Kim, NPR, 26 Sep. 2025
  • Those with the grit to tough it out have reshaped the culinary landscape in Dallas, garnering attention from the James Beard Foundation and catching the eye of the coveted Michelin Guide.
    — Nathanael Gassett, Bon Appetit Magazine, 30 Apr. 2026
  • This is what stands out most on a rewatch of this tape, from Morgan Moses returning to play to tough out a knee injury, the collective resilience to complete an 11-point comeback and overcome key losses of TreVeyon Henderson and Kayshon Boutte among others.
    — Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Dec. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tough.' 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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