tough
Tough can refer to an aggressive and violent young criminal, someone who learned to fight in the streets rather than being formally trained in the sport of boxing, or a cruel and brutal fellow. Tough is also used as adjective, with meanings including not given to gentleness or sentimentality.
Length
5
Scrabble
9
WWF
10
Starts
TO
Ends
UGH
Difficulty
Medium
Dictionary
What Does “TOUGH” Mean?
/tʌf/
tough has 12 documented senses across adjective, noun.
Adjective
9 sensesnot given to gentleness or sentimentality
“a tough character”
very difficult; severely testing stamina or resolution
“a rugged competitive examination”
“the rugged conditions of frontier life”
“the competition was tough”
“it's a tough life”
Synonyms
substantially made or constructed
“sturdy steel shelves”
“sturdy canvas”
“a tough all-weather fabric”
“some plastics are as tough as metal”
Synonyms
feeling physical discomfort or pain (‘tough’ is occasionally used colloquially for ‘bad’)
“my throat feels bad”
“she felt bad all over”
“he was feeling tough after a restless night”
Synonyms
Show 3 more adjective definitions
resistant to cutting or chewing
making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe
“a baffling problem”
“I faced the knotty problem of what to have for breakfast”
“a problematic situation at home”
Noun
3 sensesScrabble Score
9
Letters
5
Vowels
2
Consonants
3
Word Intelligence
Explore the word tough with its definition, score, letter pattern, and useful word game details.
Definition
not given to gentleness or sentimentality
Length
5 letters
Starts With
T
Ends With
H
Vowels
2
Consonants
3
Letters
T, O, U, G, H
Use Case
Useful for Scrabble, Wordle, crosswords, anagrams, and other word games.
Letter Breakdown
Word Facts
Key letter, score, and pattern facts for tough.
Word Strategy
Strategy notes for using tough in Scrabble, Wordle-style games, crosswords, and anagram solving.
Scrabble Strategy
★★★☆☆TOUGH has a Scrabble score of 9. It is useful for balancing a rack and building steady board position.
Wordle Strategy
★★★★☆TOUGH is a five-letter word, so it can be considered in Wordle-style solving. It includes common vowel information that can help narrow guesses.
Crossword Strategy
★★★★☆TOUGH can be useful in crossword solving because it has a clear starting letter, ending letter, and 5-letter structure.
Anagram Strategy
★★★★☆TOUGH uses unique letters, giving more flexibility when checking possible anagrams and word game combinations.
Letter Intelligence
A deeper look at the letter structure, patterns, and useful game signals inside tough.
Unique Letters
5
Repeated Letters
0
Highest Value Letter
H
Letter Pattern
ABCDE
CV Pattern
CVVCC
Vowel Share
40%
Consonant Share
60%
Bigrams
TO, OU, UG, GH
Trigrams
TOU, OUG, UGH
Crossword Intelligence
Crossword-style clues, crossing help, and pattern notes for tough.
Related Words
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taata
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taatas
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tab
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tabanid
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tabanids
This word is included in the UnscrambleHQ word-game dictionary. A verified definition is not currently available.
tabard
This word is included in the UnscrambleHQ word-game dictionary. A verified definition is not currently available.
Word Usage Insights
Practical observations about how this word performs in different word games and puzzle situations.
Word Intelligence Links
Explore word lists connected to TOUGH by length, score, vowels, consonants, starting letters, ending letters, and word game tools.
Word Family
Explore words that share a similar beginning or root pattern with tough.
Related Word Tools
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