tough

someone who learned to fight in the streets rather than being formally trained in the sport of boxing

an aggressive and violent young criminal

a cruel and brutal fellow

not given to gentleness or sentimentality; "a tough character"

very difficult; severely testing stamina or resolution; "a rugged competitive examination"; "the rugged conditions of frontier life"; "the competition was tough"; "it's a tough life"; "it was a tough job"

physically toughened; "the tough bottoms of his feet"

substantially made or constructed; "sturdy steel shelves"; "sturdy canvas"; "a tough all-weather fabric"; "some plastics are as tough as metal"

violent and lawless; "the more ruffianly element"; "tough street gangs"

feeling physical discomfort or pain (`tough' is occasionally used colloquially for `bad'); "my throat feels bad"; "she felt bad all over"; "he was feeling tough after a restless night"

resistant to cutting or chewing

unfortunate or hard to bear; "had hard luck"; "a tough break"

making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe; "a baffling problem"; "I faced the knotty problem of what to have for breakfast"; "a problematic situation at home"