hardship

noun

hard·​ship ˈhärd-ˌship 

1

: privation, suffering

2

: something that causes or entails suffering or privation

Synonyms

• adversity
• asperity
• difficulty
• hardness
• rigor

Examples of hardship in a Sentence

He had suffered through considerable hardship.

The city has been experiencing a period of financial hardship.

They had to endure the hardships of life on the frontier.

Recent Examples on the Web

Volunteering or creating a nonprofit will help those around you who are going through hardship. —Essence, 7 Jan. 2025

Dunnett said the event provides cancer patients and their families with a day to have fun and enjoy Great America, and to be around other families who are going through the same hardships. —Isha Trivedi, The Mercury News, 6 Jan. 2025

But his policies have inflicted widespread hardship. —María Magdalena Arréllaga, New York Times, 31 Dec. 2024

The intervening years have not been without hardship for Jeni, who has an adult onset of the same rare form of muscular dystrophy, and was diagnosed in 2015 with a rare and aggressive form of cancer. —Elissa Rosen, People.com, 30 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

hardship

noun

hard·​ship ˈhärd-ˌship 

1

: pain entry 1 sense 2a, privation

2

: something that causes pain or loss