: gained by great effort

Examples of hard-won in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
The friendship is hard-won, over years of Yuval showing up and Basel welcoming him. Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 28 Feb. 2025 Trust is often hard-won and takes time and effort to build. Jake Webster, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025 For us fathers, respect is hard-won—and often short-lived. Akash Kapur, Travel + Leisure, 24 Feb. 2025 The Trunk is a more complex slow-burn compared to the traditional K-drama, trading the surety of a confident love story for something quieter and more hard-won. Kayti Burt, TIME, 14 Feb. 2025 Instead of making cuts, the team added scenes of Jeep vehicles on the road and even a few with soldiers to underscore how freedom has been hard-won. Brian Steinberg, Variety, 10 Feb. 2025 And that quality was hard-won for the Lovell sisters. Bill Kopp, SPIN, 27 Jan. 2025 But much of her spiritual growth was involuntary and hard-won. Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 2 Jan. 2025 The minimum wage — hard-won by labor — is not supposed to codify the absolute lowest amount employers can get away with paying. New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 30 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1586, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hard-won was in 1586

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Cite this Entry

“Hard-won.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hard-won. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025.

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