hardship

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈhɑɹdˌʃɪp/ UK /ˈhɑːdˌʃɪp/ See IPA manual

noun verb Freq #12661

Meanings

1

noun
A situation that is difficult to live through, especially because of money or harsh conditions.

The family suffered great hardship during the war.
2

noun
Something that causes suffering or difficulty.

Paying the extra fee would be a real hardship for low-income students.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a situation that is... adversity difficulty distress

2 noun · something that causes... affliction trouble

Opposites

enthusiasmsoftship

Word family

Forms hardships

Etymology

From Middle English hardshipe, equivalent to hard + -ship.

hardshipe Middle English

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

# hardship

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** noun, verb
**IPA (US):** ˈhɑɹdˌʃɪp
**IPA (UK):** ˈhɑːdˌʃɪp
**Frequency rank:** 12661

## Meanings
1. A situation that is difficult to live through, especially because of money or harsh conditions.
2. Something that causes suffering or difficulty.

## Examples
- The family suffered great hardship during the war.
- Paying the extra fee would be a real hardship for low-income students.

## Antonyms
- enthusiasm
- softship

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: hardshipe

## Etymology
From Middle English hardshipe, equivalent to hard + -ship.

## AI Etymology
Hardship comes from Middle English hardshipe, equivalent to hard + -ship. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix. In current use, the main senses are “A situation that is difficult to live through, especially because of money or harsh conditions” and “Something that causes suffering or difficulty”.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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hardship

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