Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Hard \Hard\, a. [Compar. {Harder}; superl. {Hardest}.] [{OE}.
   heard, AS. heard; akin to OS. & D. heard, G. hart, OHG.
   harti, Icel. har?r, Dan. haard, Sw. h[*a]rd, Goth. hardus,
   Gr.? strong, ?, ?, strength, and also to E. -ard, as in
   coward, drunkard, -crat, -cracy in autocrat, democracy; cf.
   Skr. kratu strength, ? to do, make. Cf. {Hardy}.]
   1. Not easily penetrated, cut, or separated into parts; not
      yielding to pressure; firm; solid; compact; -- applied to
      material bodies, and opposed to soft; as, hard wood; hard
      flesh; a hard apple.

   2. Difficult, mentally or judicially; not easily apprehended,
      decided, or resolved; as a hard problem.

            The hard causes they brought unto Moses. --Ex.
                                                  xviii. 26.

            In which are some things hard to be understood. --2
                                                  Peter iii. 16.

   3. Difficult to accomplish; full of obstacles; laborious;
      fatiguing; arduous; as, a hard task; a disease hard to
      cure.

   4. Difficult to resist or control; powerful.

            The stag was too hard for the horse.  --L'Estrange.

            A power which will be always too hard for them.
                                                  --Addison.

   5. Difficult to bear or endure; not easy to put up with or
      consent to; hence, severe; rigorous; oppressive;
      distressing; unjust; grasping; as, a hard lot; hard times;
      hard fare; a hard winter; hard conditions or terms.

            I never could drive a hard bargain.   --Burke.

   6. Difficult to please or influence; stern; unyielding;
      obdurate; unsympathetic; unfeeling; cruel; as, a hard
      master; a hard heart; hard words; a hard character.

   7. Not easy or agreeable to the taste; stiff; rigid;
      ungraceful; repelling; as, a hard style.

            Figures harder than even the marble itself.
                                                  --Dryden.

   8. Rough; acid; sour, as liquors; as, hard cider.

   9. (Pron.) Abrupt or explosive in utterance; not aspirated,
      sibilated, or pronounced with a gradual change of the
      organs from one position to another; -- said of certain
      consonants, as c in came, and g in go, as distinguished
      from the same letters in center, general, etc.

   10. Wanting softness or smoothness of utterance; harsh; as, a
       hard tone.

   11. (Painting)
       (a) Rigid in the drawing or distribution of the figures;
           formal; lacking grace of composition.
       (b) Having disagreeable and abrupt contrasts in the
           coloring or light and shade.

   {Hard cancer}, {Hard case}, etc. See under {Cancer}, {Case},
      etc.

   {Hard clam}, or {Hard-shelled clam} (Zo["o]l.), the guahog.
      

   {Hard coal}, anthracite, as distinguished from bituminous or
      soft coal.

   {Hard and fast}. (Naut.) See under {Fast}.

   {Hard finish} (Arch.), a smooth finishing coat of hard fine
      plaster applied to the surface of rough plastering.

   {Hard lines}, hardship; difficult conditions.

   {Hard money}, coin or specie, as distinguished from paper
      money.

   {Hard oyster} (Zo["o]l.), the northern native oyster. [Local,
      U. S.]

   {Hard pan}, the hard stratum of earth lying beneath the soil;
      hence, figuratively, the firm, substantial, fundamental
      part or quality of anything; as, the hard pan of
      character, of a matter in dispute, etc. See {Pan}.

   {Hard rubber}. See under {Rubber}.

   {Hard solder}. See under {Solder}.

   {Hard water}, water, which contains lime or some mineral
      substance rendering it unfit for washing. See {Hardness},
      3.

   {Hard wood}, wood of a solid or hard texture; as walnut, oak,
      ash, box, and the like, in distinction from pine, poplar,
      hemlock, etc.

   {In hard condition}, in excellent condition for racing;
      having firm muscles;-said of race horses.

   Syn: Solid; arduous; powerful; trying; unyielding; stubborn;
        stern; flinty; unfeeling; harsh; difficult; severe;
        obdurate; rigid. See {Solid}, and {Arduous}.

Hard \Hard\, adv. [OE. harde, AS. hearde.]
   1. With pressure; with urgency; hence, diligently; earnestly.

            And prayed so hard for mercy from the prince.
                                                  --Dryden.

            My father Is hard at study; pray now, rest yourself.
                                                  --Shak.

   2. With difficulty; as, the vehicle moves hard.

   3. Uneasily; vexatiously; slowly. --Shak.

   4. So as to raise difficulties. `` The guestion is hard
      set''. --Sir T. Browne.

   5. With tension or strain of the powers; violently; with
      force; tempestuously; vehemently; vigorously;
      energetically; as, to press, to blow, to rain hard; hence,
      rapidly; as, to run hard.

   6. Close or near.

            Whose house joined hard to the synagogue. --Acts
                                                  xviii.7.

   {Hard by}, {near by}; close at hand; not far off. ``Hard by a
      cottage chimney smokes.'' --Milton.

   {Hard pushed}, {Hard run}, greatly pressed; as, he was hard
      pushed or hard run for time, money, etc. [Colloq.]

   {Hard up}, closely pressed by want or necessity; without
      money or resources; as, hard up for amusements. [Slang]

   Note: Hard in nautical language is often joined to words of
         command to the helmsman, denoting that the order should
         be carried out with the utmost energy, or that the helm
         should be put, in the direction indicated, to the
         extreme limit, as, Hard aport! Hard astarboard! Hard
         alee! Hard aweather up! Hard is also often used in
         composition with a participle; as, hard-baked;
         hard-earned; hard-working; hard-won.

Hard \Hard\, v. t.
   To harden; to make hard. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

Hard \Hard\, n.
   A ford or passage across a river or swamp.

Source : WordNet®

hard
     adj 1: not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to
            accomplish or comprehend or endure; "a difficult
            task"; "nesting places on the cliffs are difficult of
            access"; "difficult times"; "a difficult child";
            "found himself in a difficult situation"; "why is it
            so hard for you to keep a secret?" [syn: {difficult}]
            [ant: {easy}]
     2: metaphorically hard; "a hard fate"; "took a hard look"; "a
        hard bargainer"; "a hard climb" [ant: {soft}]
     3: not yielding to pressure or easily penetrated; "hard as
        rock" [ant: {soft}]
     4: very strong or vigorous; "strong winds"; "a hard left to the
        chin"; "a knockout punch"; "a severe blow" [syn: {knockout},
         {severe}]
     5: characterized by toilsome effort to the point of exhaustion;
        especially physical effort; "worked their arduous way up
        the mining valley"; "a grueling campaign"; "hard labor";
        "heavy work"; "heavy going"; "spent many laborious hours
        on the project"; "set a punishing pace" [syn: {arduous}, {backbreaking},
         {grueling}, {gruelling}, {heavy}, {laborious}, {punishing},
         {toilsome}]
     6: of speech sounds [ant: {soft}]
     7: of a drinker or drinking; indulging intemperately; "does a
        lot of hard drinking"; "a heavy drinker" [syn: {hard(a)},
        {heavy}]
     8: having undergone fermentation; "hard cider" [syn: {fermented}]
     9: having a high alcoholic content; "hard liquor" [syn: {strong}]
     10: unfortunate or hard to bear; "had hard luck"; "a tough
         break" [syn: {tough}]
     11: dried out; "hard dry rolls left over from the day before"
     [also: {hardest}, {harder}]

hard
     adv 1: with effort or force or vigor; "the team played hard";
            "worked hard all day"; "pressed hard on the lever";
            "hit the ball hard"; "slammed the door hard"
     2: with firmness; "held hard to the railing" [syn: {firmly}]
     3: earnestly or intently; "thought hard about it"; "stared hard
        at the accused"
     4: causing great damage or hardship; "industries hit hard by
        the depression"; "she was severely affected by the bank's
        failure" [syn: {severely}]
     5: slowly and with difficulty; "prejudices die hard"
     6: indulging excessively; "he drank heavily" [syn: {heavily}, {intemperately}]
        [ant: {lightly}]
     7: into a solid condition; "concrete that sets hard within a
        few hours"
     8: very near or close in space or time; "it stands hard by the
        railroad tracks"; "they were hard on his heels"; "a strike
        followed hard upon the plant's opening"
     9: with pain or distress or bitterness; "he took the rejection
        very hard"
     10: to the full extent possible; all the way; "hard alee"; "the
         ship went hard astern"; "swung the wheel hard left"
     [also: {hardest}, {harder}]