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tough going

ADJECTIVE
strenuous
Synonyms
STRONGEST
arduous demanding exhausting laborious taxing uphill
WEAK
effortful energy-consuming hard herculean mean operose toilful toilsome tough wicked
Antonyms
STRONGEST
easy facile trivial
WEAK
apathetic effortless enervated lethargic unenthusiastic

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The job market has been tough going for out-of-work jobseekers, with monthly net job creation cooling appreciably in the second half of last year compared with during the boom that followed the Covid-19 pandemic.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026

Robins, like so many before him, found life tough going after being appointed as Stoke City's third boss of the season in December.

From BBC • Aug. 8, 2025

Some of the passages in this illuminating and essential work are tough going.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2025

Bristol City have found the WSL very tough going following promotion last season, with just one win from their 13 league matches so far while conceding a league-high 33 goals.

From BBC • Feb. 16, 2024

It was tough going through the saw briers and underbrush.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls