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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Recent Examples of hardscrabble
The hardscrabble landscape suits its subjects.
—
Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Dec. 2025
The scheme led to one of the companies, then-known as Hometown International, having a market capitalization of more than $100 million despite owning only one small, money-losing delicatessen in the hardscrabble south Jersey town of Paulsboro.
—Dan Mangan, CNBC, 24 Nov. 2025
Like Macy, Silas is smart and ambitious, from a hardscrabble family.
—Alex Kotlowitz, The Atlantic, 29 Oct. 2025
Generations of locals left hardscrabble poverty on the Isle of Lewis, in Scotland's Outer Hebrides, for opportunities abroad.
—Lauren Frayer, NPR, 14 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hardscrabble
Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Dec. 2025
The scheme led to one of the companies, then-known as Hometown International, having a market capitalization of more than $100 million despite owning only one small, money-losing delicatessen in the hardscrabble south Jersey town of Paulsboro.
—Dan Mangan, CNBC, 24 Nov. 2025
Like Macy, Silas is smart and ambitious, from a hardscrabble family.
—Alex Kotlowitz, The Atlantic, 29 Oct. 2025
Generations of locals left hardscrabble poverty on the Isle of Lewis, in Scotland's Outer Hebrides, for opportunities abroad.
—Lauren Frayer, NPR, 14 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hardscrabble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hardscrabble
Adjective
-
Tennyson spent the rest of his life returning to that desolate seascape, literally but also literarily.—
Kathryn Schulz,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
-
The word that came to mind was desolate.—
Ken Harbaugh,
The Atlantic,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The few remaining individuals live in barren, rugged terrain at high elevations.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
-
In other games during the barren run, chances have been created and squandered.—
Andy Naylor,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Pilgrims also threw in coins as offerings, some later retrieved by impoverished people to survive.—
Norma Meyer,
Oc Register,
4 Feb. 2026
-
The penultimate episode saw Deathclaws descending on Freeside, an impoverished community on the fringes of New Vegas.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
The dating scene is bleak, or at least increasingly difficult to navigate.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
14 Feb. 2026
-
But none of them have felt as bleak or despairing as Israeli director Anat Even’s scathing cinematic essay, Collapse (Effondrement).—
Jordan Mintzer,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Semmann said stores raise prices primarily in response to supply chain issues, such as poor harvests, changes to international trade policy or increasing logistical costs.—
Francesca Pica,
jsonline.com,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Boating conditions are poor across offshore waters south of Cape Canaveral, while small craft need to exercise caution near the inlets.—
Garfield Hylton,
The Orlando Sentinel,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hardscrabble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hardscrabble. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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