hard·core
ˈhärd-ˈkȯr
variants
or hard-core
1
a
: of, relating to, or being part of a hard core (see hard core sense 1a) : marked by or involving a persistent state or circumstance
hardcore poverty
the hard-core unemployed
c
: serious or intense in nature or degree
… gyms where the training became so hardcore that the program bordered on tyrannical.—Mark Giannotto
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
News executives deeply committed to and trained in hard-core journalism …—Ron Alridge
variants
or hardcore
plural hard cores or hardcores
1
: a central or fundamental and usually enduring group or part: such as
a
: a relatively small and usually enduring core of society marked by apparent resistance to change or inability to escape a persistent condition (such as poverty or chronic unemployment)
b
: the most devoted and active members of a group
… the hard core of the Unionist Party …—J. B. Firth
2
usually hardcore chiefly British
: hard material in pieces (such as broken bricks or stone) used as a bottom layer or fill (as in making roads and in foundations)
3
usually hardcore
or hardcore punk
: a subgenre of punk rock marked usually by intense speed and loud volume
For most of the people who loved hardcore, the music was inseparable from the scene that created it, and from the turbulent shows that brought participants together.—Kelefa Sanneh
—often used before another noun… '80s hardcore bands like the Adolescents and Vandals …—Lorraine Ali
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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