HARDSCRABBLE Synonyms: 55 Similar and Opposite Words

hardscrabble

adjective

ˈhärd-ˌskra-bəl

Definition of hardscrabble

as in desolate

producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation it was hard to eke out even a bare existence on the hardscrabble lands

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of hardscrabble Hailing from London as the son of hardscrabble fruit sellers, Winstone was often asked to channel his rough-and-tumble upbringing and pre-acting career as a boxer into mobster and villain roles. — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 31 Aug. 2026 Each of those pieces of her public-facing persona seemed to naturally grow from a vast discography where Parton established herself as hardscrabble, emotionally forthright and full of intuition. — Ethan Beck, Washington Post, 28 Aug. 2026 But as Samantha's reporting shows, those consolidations have stalled over the past three years — despite the continuing pressures of declining enrollment and hardscrabble finances. — Mike Trautmann, Des Moines Register, 13 Aug. 2026 Beginning as a road trip, then shifting to a punishing vision of hardscrabble life in Accra, the film blossoms into a story of irrevocable bonds forged out of shared adversity. — Jay Weissberg, Variety, 9 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for hardscrabble

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hardscrabble

Adjective

As filmmakers, they were drawn to the unexpected beauty of the desolate, postindustrial landscape.

— Kim Velsey, Curbed, 9 Oct. 2026
Obscenities, the referee’s whistle, and the thud of boots into balls—and sometimes shins—easily carry across these desolate fields.

— Vanda Mayer, New Yorker, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of desolate

Adjective

Centered on the town of Bawiti, this remote depression in Egypt’s Western Desert is surrounded by barren hills, date palms, hot springs and sweeping desert landscapes.

— Jamie Carter, Space.com, 10 Oct. 2026
In Samuel Beckett's tragicomedy, two men wait beside a barren tree for someone called Godot who never arrives.

— Anniek Bao, CNBC, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of barren

Adjective

The impoverished Reds work as slave labor in the mines of Mars, while the super-strong Golds rule the solar system and war on each other.

— Jordan Moreau, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026
Prosecutors accuse him of participating in schemes to divert hundreds of millions of dollars from Venezuelan government programs intended to provide housing, food and other necessities to the country’s impoverished population.

— Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of impoverished

Adjective

Unlike Gregor Samsa who is confined to his room after transforming into a huge insect, the protagonist still has to go to work, a dark and bleak absurdity that lays bare the alienation, isolation, and hypocrisy of modern life.

— Deadline, Deadline, 14 Oct. 2026
Providing a faint ray of hope in this otherwise bleak start to life, the five baby orangutans have been settling into their new surroundings in Odisha at the Nandankanan Zoo.

— Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of bleak

Adjective

Measles usually kills two or three people in every 1,000 cases, the WHO says, but the disease can be more deadly in poorer nations because of factors such as malnutrition.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2026
That receiver sends that poor defender into next week at the pylon.

— Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of poor

Browse Nearby Words

hard put

hardscrabble

hard-shell

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“Hardscrabble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hardscrabble. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of hardscrabble

adjective

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