1
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 Canaday1
: 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
chiefly British
: hard material in pieces (such as broken bricks or stone) used as a bottom (as in making roads and in foundations)
Synonyms
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 WebJack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2024
There’s a lot going on with this, our annual travel issue, full of adventure, exploration, and some pretty hard-core decadence, too.
—Paul Croughton, Robb Report, 1 Aug. 2024
Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 7 Aug. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for hard-core 
Adjective
Perhaps that’s because most of us will never scale the towering rock walls that make Yosemite the holy land for hard-core climbers.
—Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 8 Aug. 2024
There’s a lot going on with this, our annual travel issue, full of adventure, exploration, and some pretty hard-core decadence, too.
—Paul Croughton, Robb Report, 1 Aug. 2024
Noun
Researchers first differentiated between hard core subtypes, who almost never leave their room and rarely talk to family members, and the soft category, who occasionally venture out and have some contact with their families.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 7 Aug. 2024
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
See all Example Sentences for hard-core
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hard-core.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Hard-core.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hard-core. Accessed 12 Sep. 2024.
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