Definition

Adjective: - Requiring great effort or struggle to achieve: Describes a victory, contest, or achievement that was won or accomplished only after intense and prolonged effort, competition, or difficulty.

Usage

The adjective "hard-fought" is used attributively, meaning it typically comes before the noun it modifies. It describes the nature of the event or outcome itself, emphasizing the struggle involved.

Examples

• The team celebrated their hard-fought victory after a grueling overtime match.
• She finally won the election after a hard-fought campaign that lasted over a year.
• The new environmental regulations are the result of a hard-fought battle in the legislature.

Advanced Usage

• "to be hard-fought": This phrase can be used predicatively (after a linking verb like or ) to describe the nature of an event.
  • The battle for market share was long and hard-fought.
• "hard-fought-for": A less common variant used to emphasize that something was fought for and won with great effort.
  • These are our hard-fought-for rights and freedoms.

Variants and Related Words

• Hard-won (adj): Similar in meaning, emphasizing that something was achieved with great difficulty. (e.g., a peace agreement).
• Hard-earned (adj): Specifically emphasizes that money or a result was earned through strenuous labor or effort. (e.g., money).

Synonyms

• Arduous: Involving strenuous effort; difficult and tiring.
• Grueling: Extremely tiring and demanding.
• Strenuous: Requiring or using great effort or exertion.

Antonyms

• Easy: Achieved without great effort; presenting few difficulties.
• Effortless: Requiring no physical or mental exertion.
• Walkover: An easy or uncontested victory.

Related Phrases and Idioms

• A close-fought contest/battle: A competition or struggle where the competitors are very evenly matched and the outcome is uncertain until the end. This is closely related to "hard-fought" but emphasizes the narrow margin rather than just the effort.
  • It was a close-fought final, with the winner decided in the last minute.

Adjective

1. requiring great effort
   • a hard-fought primary