as in desolate
producing inferior or only a small amount of vegetation
it was hard to eke out even a bare existence on the hardscrabble lands
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hardscrabble
Grant Leonard, Queens’ 43-year-old head coach, had a hardscrabble existence on the fringes of college basketball for the first decade of his career.
—
Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 24 Jan. 2025
Waukegan is counting on the project to boost its downtown economy, but this hardscrabble city will have to wait at least a couple more years for a grand opening.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 25 Feb. 2025
Now, after 15 months of war between Hamas and Israel, the water system in Gaza has gone from hardscrabble and tenuous to virtually nonexistent.
—Claudine Ebeid, The Atlantic, 6 Feb. 2025
Sorenstam is humbled by her place in the LPGA Tour’s history and her sport’s hardscrabble roots.
—Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 29 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hardscrabble
Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 24 Jan. 2025
Waukegan is counting on the project to boost its downtown economy, but this hardscrabble city will have to wait at least a couple more years for a grand opening.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 25 Feb. 2025
Now, after 15 months of war between Hamas and Israel, the water system in Gaza has gone from hardscrabble and tenuous to virtually nonexistent.
—Claudine Ebeid, The Atlantic, 6 Feb. 2025
Sorenstam is humbled by her place in the LPGA Tour’s history and her sport’s hardscrabble roots.
—Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 29 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hardscrabble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hardscrabble
Adjective
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Fourteen years of war have left the country desolate, and its people exhausted; millions have been displaced or were forced to become refugees.—
Raghed Waked & Justin Salhani,
The Dial,
25 Mar. 2025
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That quality is maintained first and foremost by a desolate whistling-wind sound effect in the background of all the scenes, along with a sustained droning musical score.—
Ben Coxworth,
New Atlas,
14 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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On the idyllic shores of the once popular tourist hot spot Inle Lake, in southern Shan state, the earthquake destroyed hundreds of bamboo houses on stilts occupied by impoverished villagers, according to aid workers.—
Ross Adkin,
CNN Money,
4 Apr. 2025
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These navigators link impoverished Floridians with the network of religious and community organizations that support them and teach them how to take of themselves, according to Hope Florida’s supporters.—
Jeffrey Schweers,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Charlie Parker’s Favorite Painting (1946) indicates Abercrombie’s engagement with social issues: a yellow noose, nearly fluorescent against a dishwater sky, dangles from a barren tree—an oblique lament from the doggedly antiracist Abercrombie.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
ARTnews.com,
26 Mar. 2025
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Meanwhile, the patch of skin to the ’22 trophy’s left looks almost barren.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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All of these episodes have different types of endings: There’s bleak to total cliffhanger to sentimental.—
Jackie Strause,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Apr. 2025
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Some practical frameworks and strategies enable leaders to maintain stability, foster engagement, and position their teams for success even when the economic outlook appears bleak.—
Kara Dennison, SPHR, CPRW, EC,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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In fact, the massive, albeit picturesque, gullies were made because of poor farming practices during the 1800s.—
Nicole Letts,
Southern Living,
21 Mar. 2025
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Each site has a different interface, often poor or glitchy.—
Jaron Lanier,
The New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hardscrabble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hardscrabble. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.
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