hard-core
1 of 2adjective
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
John Canadayhard core
2 of 2noun
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
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Noun He knows that he can count on the support of a hard core of party loyalists.
Recent Examples on the Web Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 5 Sep. 2022 Support for those beliefs goes beyond the hard core of people who openly advocate violence. David Lautersenior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2022 Tuesday is for keynotes and consumer hardware, and the next three day are for hard core geeks. Charlie Fink, Forbes, 26 May 2022 Strong believers in political violence, that 5%, are the hardest of the hard core. David Lautersenior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2022 Equity believers have to be a hard core buy the dippers to not acknowledge this is one frightening chart with a trajectory aiming at 10,000 and probably lower. Clem Chambers, Forbes, 19 May 2022 The suffix -core comes from hard core, which at first (1841) referred to broken bricks or stones that formed the hard substratum of roads and foundations. Melissa Mohr, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Feb. 2022 Yet another wave of completely pointless death seems to be motivating a lot of people to finally get vaccinated — but thus far the procrastinators, not the ideological, hard core antivaxxers. Ryan Cooper, The Week, 27 Aug. 2021 And a hard core of vaccine resistance, often tied to far-right populism, helped set the stage for a virulent fourth wave of infections now raging across Europe, triggering stringent lockdowns whose like hadn’t been seen for months. Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2021 See More
Noun
Truss campaigned for her party’s leadership on a platform pandering to the Tory’s hard core. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 5 Sep. 2022 Support for those beliefs goes beyond the hard core of people who openly advocate violence. David Lautersenior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2022 Tuesday is for keynotes and consumer hardware, and the next three day are for hard core geeks. Charlie Fink, Forbes, 26 May 2022 Strong believers in political violence, that 5%, are the hardest of the hard core. David Lautersenior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 20 May 2022 Equity believers have to be a hard core buy the dippers to not acknowledge this is one frightening chart with a trajectory aiming at 10,000 and probably lower. Clem Chambers, Forbes, 19 May 2022 The suffix -core comes from hard core, which at first (1841) referred to broken bricks or stones that formed the hard substratum of roads and foundations. Melissa Mohr, The Christian Science Monitor, 7 Feb. 2022 Yet another wave of completely pointless death seems to be motivating a lot of people to finally get vaccinated — but thus far the procrastinators, not the ideological, hard core antivaxxers. Ryan Cooper, The Week, 27 Aug. 2021 And a hard core of vaccine resistance, often tied to far-right populism, helped set the stage for a virulent fourth wave of infections now raging across Europe, triggering stringent lockdowns whose like hadn’t been seen for months. Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2021 See More Word History
First Known Use
Adjective
1934, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Noun
1841, in the meaning defined at sense 2
hard-core
adjective
as in deep
firmly established over time the hard-core habits that generate our mountains of trash everyday will be extremely difficult to change Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- deep
- inveterate
- lifelong
- entrenched
- rooted
- persistent
- deep-seated
- deep-rooted
- chronic
- confirmed
- inherent
- settled
- typical
- bred-in-the-bone
- intrenched
- intrinsic
- natural
- persisting
- habitual
- regular
- embedded
- usual
- immutable
- inbred
- enduring
- firm
- set
- hard
- ingrained
- frozen
- accustomed
- fixed
- integral
- inculcated
- customary
- unalterable
- innate
- unchangeable
- instilled
- hard-and-fast
- irradicable
- abiding
- inborn
- imbedded
- implanted
- engrained
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- transient
- temporary
- ephemeral
- brief
- momentary
- provisional
- fleeting
- interim
- short-term
- short-lived
- impermanent
- force
- force (something) down
- force account
- force and arms
- force cup
- force de frappe
- force down
- force down someone's throat
- force field
- force fit
- force land
- force main
- force majeure
- force of circumstance
- force of circumstance(s)
- force of circumstances
- force of friction
- force of habit
- force of nature
- force of will
- force on
- force on/upon
- force one's hand
- force one's way
- force oneself