hard-core

1 of 2

adjective

ˈhärd-ˈkȯr 

1

a

: of, relating to, or being part of a hard core

hard-core poverty

the hard-core unemployed

b

: confirmed, die-hard

hard-core rock fans

a hard-core liberal

2

of pornography : containing explicit descriptions of sex acts or scenes of actual sex acts compare soft-core

3

: characterized by or being the purest or most basic form of something : fundamental

a room gussied up in hard-core French provincial style

—John Canaday

hard core

2 of 2

noun

1

: a central or fundamental and usually enduring group or part: such as

a

: a relatively small enduring core of society marked by apparent resistance to change or inability to escape a persistent wretched condition (such as poverty or chronic unemployment)

b

: a militant or fiercely loyal faction

2

usually hardcore

ˈhärd-ˌkȯr 

chiefly British : hard material in pieces (such as broken bricks or stone) used as a bottom (as in making roads and in foundations)

Synonyms

Adjective

• bred-in-the-bone
• confirmed
• deep
• deep-rooted
• deep-seated
• entrenched
• intrenched
• inveterate
• rooted
• settled

Examples of hard-core in a Sentence

Adjective

the hard-core habits that generate our mountains of trash everyday will be extremely difficult to change

Noun

He knows that he can count on the support of a hard core of party loyalists.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The reality, however, is that many of the judges who ruled against DeSantis have been hard-core conservatives. —Scott Maxwell, Orlando Sentinel, 25 June 2024

Former senior regime officials and other hard-core supporters of Saddam clearly had no role in the future of Iraq. —David Petraeus, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2024

Noun

While some hard core lefties in the Democratic Party may object, moderates like Adams, who reach out to the middle, would be bolstered. —New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 4 June 2024

Those who remained on Shelter Island to look for scallops were the hard core, the romantics and the purists, for whom a fallow winter turns the search for scallops into something like a sacramental rite. —Christopher Maag, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1934, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1841, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Kids Definition

hard core

noun

1

: an unchanging and lasting central part

2

: a small number of aggressive members of a group

hard-core adjective