hardscrabble
Eked out existence
Hardscrabble describes conditions of poverty and difficult survival, especially in rural settings where the land barely yields enough to live on.
A hardscrabble farm or childhood suggests constant struggle against scarcity.
The word evokes scratching a meager existence from unyielding soil: He grew up hardscrabble in the hills of Appalachia.
Determination or abrasive particles
- tenacityPersistent grip or resolve
- perseveranceSustained resolve despite obstacles
- determinationFirmness of purpose
- fortitudeEnduring courage under pain
toughness · endurance · scrappy · resourceful · self-reliant · survivor · stubborn · dogged
Utterly without means
- impoverishedExtremely lacking in money
- hand-to-mouthConsuming resources immediately
- subsistenceMinimal means of living
- penuryExtreme lack of money
indigent · needy · deprivation · want · squalor · underprivileged · disadvantaged · pauperized
Unable to produce
dusty · infertile · unyielding · inhospitable · bleak · desolate · windswept · eroded
Strenuous effort; also childbirth
- struggleLabored effort against resistance
- grindCrush into particles
- slogLaborious persistent effort
- backbreakingExtremely physically demanding
grueling · exhausting · sweat · drudgery · demanding · relentless · unceasing · thankless
Farm with residence
- homesteadFamily farm and dwelling
- sharecropperFarmer paying rent in crops
- frontierEdge of settlement
- prairieOpen grassy flatland
pioneer · settler · dustbowl · Appalachian · outback · smallholding · ranching · agrarian
grit
Determination or abrasive particles
- tenacityPersistent grip or resolve
- perseveranceSustained resolve despite obstacles
- determinationFirmness of purpose
fortitude · toughness · endurance · scrappy · resourceful · self-reliant · survivor · stubborn · dogged · plucky
destitute
Utterly without means
- impoverishedExtremely lacking in money
- hand-to-mouthConsuming resources immediately
- subsistenceMinimal means of living
penury · indigent · needy · deprivation · want · squalor · underprivileged · disadvantaged · pauperized · necessitous
barren
Unable to produce
parched · dusty · infertile · unyielding · inhospitable · bleak · desolate · windswept · eroded · hardpan
labor
Strenuous effort; also childbirth
backbreaking · grueling · exhausting · sweat · drudgery · demanding · relentless · unceasing · thankless · wearisome
farmstead
Farm with residence
- homesteadFamily farm and dwelling
- sharecropperFarmer paying rent in crops
- frontierEdge of settlement
prairie · pioneer · settler · dustbowl · Appalachian · outback · smallholding · ranching · agrarian · backcountry
- rough-and-readymakeshift, improvised, crude, rough, provisional
hardscrabbleprosperous
Enjoying wealth and success
affluent · comfortable · privileged · wealthy · well-off
hard, harden, hardship, hardness, hardened, scrabble, hardening, hardiness, hardships