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hardship meaning and examples

2025-09-09

Meaning

Hardship means severe suffering, difficulty, or deprivation. It usually refers to conditions that make life difficult, such as poverty, illness, loss, or challenging environments.

Grammar and Usage

  • Part of speech: noun (countable/uncountable)

  • Common structures:

    • "face hardship" (experience difficulties)
    • "endure hardship" (suffer through difficulties)
    • "overcome hardship" (succeed despite difficulties)

It often appears in both singular and plural forms: a hardship / hardships.

Common Phrases

  • face hardship
  • endure hardship
  • overcome hardship
  • financial hardship
  • economic hardship
  • hardship allowance (extra payment for tough working conditions)

Collocations

  • adjectives + hardship: severe hardship, great hardship, extreme hardship
  • verbs + hardship: suffer hardship, encounter hardship, go through hardship
  • nouns + hardship: financial hardship, economic hardship, personal hardship

Examples

  1. Many families faced hardship during the economic crisis.
  2. She endured great hardship while raising her children alone.
  3. The soldiers went through many hardships in the desert.
  4. His illness brought severe hardship to the family.
  5. Despite hardship, she never lost hope.
  6. The government offers support to those experiencing financial hardship.
  7. They overcame hardship with determination and teamwork.
  8. Refugees often suffer hardship before finding safety.
  • difficulty
  • adversity
  • struggle
  • suffering
  • challenge
  • trial

Antonym

  • comfort
  • ease
  • prosperity
  • advantage