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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Recent Examples of hardscrabble
And while the epicenter of this movement is in Hardwick, Vermont – a town of 1,000 people that has transformed itself from a hardscrabble rural hamlet into a mecca of food and sustainability – the impacts go well beyond it.
—
Riley Robinson, Christian Science Monitor, 8 June 2025
To someone from a hardscrabble life, Hartford seemed so posh and civilized to him.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 18 May 2025
Commoners could look forward to a paltry thirty-five or forty years of a hardscrabble existence, without the benefit of medicine, dentistry, or a decent sewage system.
—Arthur Krystal, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
Kathy Bates plays Dolores, a hardscrabble Maine housekeeper who hasn't seen her estranged daughter, Selena (Jennifer Jason Leigh), in 15 years.
—EW.com, 23 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hardscrabble
Riley Robinson, Christian Science Monitor, 8 June 2025
To someone from a hardscrabble life, Hartford seemed so posh and civilized to him.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 18 May 2025
Commoners could look forward to a paltry thirty-five or forty years of a hardscrabble existence, without the benefit of medicine, dentistry, or a decent sewage system.
—Arthur Krystal, The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
Kathy Bates plays Dolores, a hardscrabble Maine housekeeper who hasn't seen her estranged daughter, Selena (Jennifer Jason Leigh), in 15 years.
—EW.com, 23 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for hardscrabble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hardscrabble
Adjective
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Padam and Tulsi, whose remote Himalayan village has become increasingly desolate as families migrate to cities, leaving the pair to wonder who will perform their last rites.—
Variety Staff,
Variety,
25 July 2025
-
Imagine how desolate the Democrats are that a Democrat running on affordability is an anti-establishment Democrat.—
Ted Reed,
Forbes.com,
16 July 2025
Adjective
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Will parts of Norway look like Nauru, a formerly lush tropical paradise stripped of its phosphate rock, and now a barren, impoverished cautionary tale?—
Suwanna Gauntlett Upjohn,
Forbes.com,
21 July 2025
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Likewise, food stamps are still going to be provided to the disabled, families with young children, and the impoverished elderly, even if Democrats want to pretend otherwise.—
Frank Miele,
The Orlando Sentinel,
20 July 2025
Adjective
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Then there is Canada and Greenland’s beef over the uninhabited Hans Island, a barren spit in the Kennedy Channel.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
25 July 2025
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Brown, barren, patchy spots in your lawn can be unsightly.—
Cody Godwin,
USA Today,
24 July 2025
Adjective
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The reversal is notable because this traditionally bleak indicator had been trending more positively under Trump's second term—until now.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 July 2025
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Restaurants were closed, staff were furloughed, and the broad outlook on the hospitality industry’s future was, in a word, bleak.—
Lela London,
Forbes.com,
18 July 2025
Adjective
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Spurred by climate change, Canadian wildfires have increasingly exacerbated poor air quality across Milwaukee and southern Wisconsin.—
Maia Pandey,
jsonline.com,
24 July 2025
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Of course, poor Michael Landon had passed away way too young.—
Angela Andaloro,
People.com,
23 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hardscrabble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hardscrabble. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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