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
One afternoon, Ayyub and I walked through Soura, a hardscrabble neighborhood in Srinagar’s old city which has been the site of several confrontations with security forces.
—
Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
One of my tasks was to dig into her past — from her hardscrabble childhood to her recent business dealings.
—Nick Tabor, Curbed, 11 Apr. 2025
And she’s been working to get Vans back to its own hardscrabble roots.
—Evan Clark, WWD, 6 Mar. 2025
Waukegan is counting on the project to boost its downtown economy, but this hardscrabble city will have to wait at least a couple more years for a grand opening.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hardscrabble
Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025
One of my tasks was to dig into her past — from her hardscrabble childhood to her recent business dealings.
—Nick Tabor, Curbed, 11 Apr. 2025
And she’s been working to get Vans back to its own hardscrabble roots.
—Evan Clark, WWD, 6 Mar. 2025
Waukegan is counting on the project to boost its downtown economy, but this hardscrabble city will have to wait at least a couple more years for a grand opening.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 25 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hardscrabble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hardscrabble
Adjective
-
The location is on federal land just north of the U.S.-Mexico border along a desolate stretch of the Sonoran Desert about 72 miles south-southwest of Tucson.—
Doha Madani,
NBC news,
5 May 2025
-
Even the trailers for Superman have echos of the Man of Steel and Batman v Superman trailers, including starting with Superman falling out of the sky into a desolate Arctic area.—
Mark Hughes,
Forbes.com,
26 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
During campaign events, Lee, who grew up in an impoverished farming household and toiled in factories as a child, spoke from behind bullet-proof glass to crowds, which were surveyed by rooftop police snipers.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
4 June 2025
-
Curtis’ extraordinary talent is first recognized in kindergarten, when a charitable foundation donates instruments to his impoverished public school.—
Joan Gaylord,
Christian Science Monitor,
29 May 2025
Adjective
-
The festival was deliberately planned for the barren weeks in June after college students left and before the summer concert and festival season kicked in.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
25 May 2025
-
The Bureau’s new research station on Hawaii’s Mauna Loa volcano, with its high altitude and barren landscape, would prove to be the ideal collection spot.—
Ashley Braun,
Smithsonian Magazine,
19 May 2025
Adjective
-
At the same time, others who attended this year’s California Democratic Party Convention dismissed any notion that the future of the Democratic Party is bleak.—
Linh Tat,
Oc Register,
31 May 2025
-
The early options on the GOP side are bleak: Neither Donalds nor Casey DeSantis, the governor’s wife who’s said to be interested in succeeding him, is the moderate Florida so desperately needs now.—
Orlando Sentinel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
30 May 2025
Adjective
-
This tactic is sometimes used to justify letting an employee go under the guise of poor performance.—
Sho Dewan,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2025
-
The original doesn’t go that deeply into it, but this poor girl was essentially forced to be a teen mom at this time in her life when all of her friends would be graduating high school and dating and thinking about their futures.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
24 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hardscrabble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hardscrabble. Accessed 7 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share