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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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
Now, after 15 months of war between Hamas and Israel, the water system in Gaza has gone from hardscrabble and tenuous to virtually nonexistent.
—
Claudine Ebeid, The Atlantic, 6 Feb. 2025
Sorenstam is humbled by her place in the LPGA Tour’s history and her sport’s hardscrabble roots.
—Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 29 Jan. 2025
Saturday’s hardwood Egg Bowl was hardscrabble and a game of the year contender, with Mississippi State pulling the 84-81 overtime win.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025
Better Man follows Williams’s hardscrabble youth, his rise to fame, and the ups and downs that came with notoriety, all punctuated by interpretations of some of his most famous tracks.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 14 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hardscrabble
Claudine Ebeid, The Atlantic, 6 Feb. 2025
Sorenstam is humbled by her place in the LPGA Tour’s history and her sport’s hardscrabble roots.
—Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 29 Jan. 2025
Saturday’s hardwood Egg Bowl was hardscrabble and a game of the year contender, with Mississippi State pulling the 84-81 overtime win.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025
Better Man follows Williams’s hardscrabble youth, his rise to fame, and the ups and downs that came with notoriety, all punctuated by interpretations of some of his most famous tracks.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 14 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hardscrabble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hardscrabble
Adjective
-
Fourteen years of war have left the country desolate, and its people exhausted; millions have been displaced or were forced to become refugees.—
Raghed Waked & Justin Salhani,
The Dial,
25 Mar. 2025
-
That quality is maintained first and foremost by a desolate whistling-wind sound effect in the background of all the scenes, along with a sustained droning musical score.—
Ben Coxworth,
New Atlas,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
These navigators link impoverished Floridians with the network of religious and community organizations that support them and teach them how to take of themselves, according to Hope Florida’s supporters.—
Jeffrey Schweers,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 Apr. 2025
-
On the idyllic shores of the once popular tourist hot spot Inle Lake, in southern Shan state, the earthquake destroyed hundreds of bamboo houses on stilts occupied by impoverished villagers, according to aid workers.—
Ross Adkin,
CNN Money,
4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Charlie Parker’s Favorite Painting (1946) indicates Abercrombie’s engagement with social issues: a yellow noose, nearly fluorescent against a dishwater sky, dangles from a barren tree—an oblique lament from the doggedly antiracist Abercrombie.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
ARTnews.com,
26 Mar. 2025
-
Mass Effect's core loop doesn't benefit from huge barren landscapes that are devoid of detail.—
Fran Ruiz,
Space.com,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The coming-of-age story finds a new generation of young women in Gilead, grappling with the bleak future that awaits them.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
1 Apr. 2025
-
Stocks had sold off sharply last Friday, amid growing uncertainty on U.S. trade policy and a bleak inflation outlook.—
Amala Balakrishner,
CNBC,
30 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
There’s a real debate to be had about what responsibility better-off neighborhoods like Hyde Park have to help solve humanitarian problems that often are laid at the feet of poorer areas.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Apr. 2025
-
The strong United cohort, almost entirely comprised of dominant sides under Ferguson, has not shied away from criticising the club, players and managers when results have been poor.—
Elias Burke,
New York Times,
5 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hardscrabble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hardscrabble. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share