tough guy

tough guy — noun

1. A man who behaves in a strong, confident, or aggressive way, either because he i

1.名詞B1
釋義

A man who behaves in a strong, confident, or aggressive way, either because he is genuinely hard to defeat or because he wants to frighten or impress other people.

例句

Jin broke his leg but proved he was a real tough guy — he returned to work in a month.

collocation: 'real tough guy' for genuine resilience

Rodrigo acts like a tough guy at school, but he is just showing off for his older brother.

collocation: 'act like a tough guy' for putting on a front

同義詞
  • hard man

    UK informal; more strongly implies willingness to use violence

  • bully

    focuses on the intimidating / aggressive behaviour, no positive sense

  • macho man

    emphasises exaggerated masculinity and swagger rather than real resilience

反義詞
  • wimp

    informal; describes someone seen as weak or cowardly

  • pushover

    someone easily influenced or defeated, the opposite of a resilient tough guy

文法句型

a [adjective] tough guy

act/look/play the tough guy

用法筆記

Frequently used informally. The tone can be positive (admiring genuine resilience) or negative (criticising bullying or a fake macho front), depending on context. In film and sports culture the term is often used admiringly.

常見錯誤

❌My sister is a real tough guy.
✅My sister is really tough.
💡'Tough guy' almost always refers to a man. For a woman, use 'tough person' or simply 'tough'.