noun [U, sing.]: hardening of the arteries zrfjjjo a hardening of attitudes towards one-parent families #

hard 'error noun {computing if) an error or fault that makes a program or operating system stop working, and that cannot be corrected

X#, ME.7C&H&)

hard-'faced adj. (disapproving) (of a person A) showing no feeling or sympathy for other people |W] 'If A

ft; f&AXAft

hard-1 fought adj. that involves fighting very hard ^ A X ft ; M 4* ft : CL hard-fought battle/win/ victory fc&lft^AX^ftflXfJ hard ‘hat noun a hat worn by building workers, etc. to protect their heads     ) —picture

0                  HAT

hard-1 headed adj. determined and not allowing your emotions to affect your decisions

ft;

hard-'hearted adj. giving no importance to the feelings or problems of other people X'flift; Aft ft — compare soft-hearted hard-'hitting adj. not afraid to talk about or criticize sb/sth in an honest and very direct way Jl 'If X ft; #•771; A ft: a hard-hitting speech ItWXt^ftijHf hard 'labour (BrE) (NAmE hard 'labor) noun [u] punishment in prison that involves a lot of very hard physical work W&

hard 'left noun [sing.+sing./pl. v.] (especially BrE) the members of a left-wing political party who have the most extreme opinions Mill: hard-left policies

mm

hard 'line noun [sing.] a strict policy or attitude [SfifLiEfc M (   ) : the judge’s hard line against drug dealers

0 The government took a

hard line on the strike.

hard-'line adj. [usually before noun] 1 (of a person A) having very fixed beliefs and being unlikely or unwilling to change them TTM aE ft W ft ; A5c1Aft : a hard-line conservative        2 (of ideas

S M) very fixed and unlikely to change M a£ ft ; M ft : a hard-line attitude M ^ ft ® ► hard-liner /,ha:d'lam0(r); NAmE ,ha:rd-/ noun : a Republican hardliner

, hard-' luck story noun a story about yourself that you tell sb in order to get their sympathy or help iff ftifiS ( A1ff#ftkAN1f^iJfj ) hard ly Ot* /'haidli; NAmE 'ha:rd-/ adv.

1                  almost no; almost not; almost none /l XX; JIX& W; There’s hardly any tea left. A M ft' AX 7 o 0 Hardly anyone has bothered to reply, fi X A zb Rjt 0 ^;o 0 She hardly ever calls me (= almost never), ftfe/l XM.Xff fEAMfeif <> OWe hardly know each other. fHikiltiXXAiA iR % o o Hardly a day goes by without my thinking of her (= I think of her almost every day), fit Jl X A A Ir ftfe o 2 used especially after ‘can’ or ‘could’ and before the main verb, to emphasize that it is difficult to do sth ( AfflX can sic could 2.fS, Alexis!

) : I can hardly keep my eyes open (= I’m almost falling asleep). flcfflffflRIAlf XTfBII To o I could hardly believe it when I read the letter,

SO SP#H H, fit if X tltfB fa <> 3 used to say that sth has just begun, happened, etc. RijR'J; ; sf: We can’t stop for coffee now, we’ve hardly started. n]f, f£fj] W\ WJ XfMiL o We had hardly sat down to supper when the phone rang.  . Riif

fl|pj T o 0 (formal) Hardly had she spoken than she regretted it bitterly. if RllltJ P,      4 used to

suggest that sth is unlikely or unreasonable or that sb is silly for saying or doing sth ( ^XXAMtfc. X

) : He is hardly likely to admit he was wrong, f&X A Af tEi#iA ft tX it To 0 It’s hardly surprising she was fired; she never did any work. $£If St T X M A , M A^X/MXiifXfnJXfA O It’s hardly the time to discuss it now. 0 You can hardly expect

her to do it for free, fftXM t&fe         „ o

‘Couldn’t you have just said no?’ ‘Well, hardly, (= of

931      hard right

course not) she’s my wife’s sister.’ “ fX X M X X

n$? ” “®, XMt6, ftfeJifltX&Xo ” o note at HARD

GRAMMAR POINT if

hardly * scarcely ♦ barely ♦ no sooner

2                  Hardly, scarcely and barely can all be used to say

that something is only just true or possible. They are used with words like any and anyone, with adjectives and verbs, and are placed between can, could, have, be, etc. and the main part of the verb. * hardly, scarcely fP barely ±XrT ft PfW®, JIXX, % any fP anyone       SX can,

could, have, be ^3HtJftlEMUftZM: They have sold scarcely any copies of the book. iXXfMT/l X&ledj JlXo o / barely recognized her. IfcJlXiA XttiiTo o His words were barely audible, fife ft if MfUfjEf Mo o / can hardly believe it. f£/lXX®7f] fg0 o I hardly can beiieve-it.

m Hardly, scarcely and barely are negative words and should not be used with not or other negatives.

* hardly, scarcely fR barely AX/EiX XfSAf not b%

/ can’t hardly believe it.

m You can also use hardly, scarcely and barely to say that one thing happens immediately after another. ifa M hardly, scarcely fP barely      R'J • • - It • • ■: We

had hardly/scarcely/barely sat down at the table, when the phone rang.       , feif &

$mj:o In formal, written English, especially in a literary style, these words can be placed at the beginning of the sentence and then the subject and verb are turned around. iXX^ftXffi^ilfX,

x&#^*mx^tr,

i^ftfvSfSJ^: Elardly/Scarcely had we sat down at the table, when the phone rang. fTcfn^J&^X^:^

T, feiflffcRolTo Note that you usually use when in these sentences, not than. You can also use before. &M: When M# than,

before: / scarcely had time to ring the bell before the door opened. Scl'T#, HltTf T« No sooner can be used in the same way, but is always used with than. * no sooner IA+S[t],      than

: No sooner had we sat down at the table than the phone rang.

3                  Hardly and scarcely can be used to mean ‘almost never’, but barely is not used in this way. * hardly fR scarcely ofiM barely XS#

^: She hardly (ever) sees her parents these days.

o Shebarely sees her

parents these days.

.hard-'nosed adj. not affected by feelings when trying to get what you want MM ft; XSX^ft; Xiftlfffi ft: a hard-nosed journalist

.hard of 'hearing adj. [not before noun] 1 unable to hear very well nFf f] $ ;      2 the hard of hearing

noun [pi.] people who are unable to hear very well off A HftA; TfWlft A: subtitles for the deaf and the hard of hearing

'hard-on noun (taboo, slang) an erection(I) fjj^s

.hard 'porn noun [U] (informal) films/movies, pictures, books, etc. that show sexual activity in a very detailed and sometimes violent way fe'UrfefMr&lSH'. XfJ # ) — compare soft porn

.hard-1 pressed adj. 1 having a lot of problems, espe­cially too much work, and too little time or money

.. X®AJEEAft (         IftlBJMii, '<&&>) 2-to

do sth finding sth very difficult to do   ) :

You would be hard-pressed to find a better secretary. ££

traM^fft^XMo

hard 'right noun [sing.+sing./pl. v.] (especially BrE) the members of a right-wing political party who have the most extreme opinions M : hard-right opinions $£

till