hard drug
7
4.6
- noun
- /hɑrd drʌg/
- NSFW
:
droga dura
- Many people believe that hard drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, are incredibly harmful and addictive.
- hard drug use
- hard drug arrest
- hard drug users
Like it's, it's absolutely mental what like hard drugs can do to you.
- Like it's, it's absolutely mental what like hard drugs can do to you.
- At least I'm buying books and not doing hard drugs.
- You know, you had eight years, no alcohol, eight years, no hard drugs.
- So by and now let's put aside, you know, addiction to hard drugs or stuff like that.
- But hard drugs like cocaine, amphetamine were PCP were discussed in the media a lot.
- Well, the stuff that got me here, roughly speaking, would be like fast food, hard drugs, promiscuous at an alarming rate.
Examples
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I haven't done hard drugs since then, but I saw a lot of people ruin their lives.
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I think hard drugs are more dangerous, and people know that.
Academic text (2006) -
Are you doing hard drugs?
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We're not talking about hard drugs.
-
All right, no more hard drugs.
-
But these guys, they are dealing hard drugs right in front of my shop.
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Rural residents are also less likely to report hard drug use.
Academic text (2008) -
I don't do hard drugs, but I imagine this is what it feels like to shoot heroin.
-
Twenty-seven percent of participants used marijuana 10 or more times, and approximately 10% used hard drugs as frequently.
Academic text (2000) -
He's admitted to using hard drugs in his memoir and on his media tour.
Synonyms
4
7.4
An illegal drug people use for fun that changes how they think and can harm them
1
5.8
A drug taken for pleasure that changes how you think and can cause addiction or harm
Antonyms
- NSFW
1
4.8
A drug with mild effects, for example cannabis, that does not often cause addiction
How Harmful
Surface Forms
Morphology
A learner who knows 'hard' in the common sense of 'strong/severe' and 'drug' as a substance can infer that a 'hard drug' is a potent or dangerous type of drug, so the core meaning is compositional. However, the conventionalized connotations of illegality and high addictiveness are not fully predictable from the parts (and the provided definition of 'hard' is atypical), so the expression is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Hard drug uses hard like something firm or strong, not soft, to make a clear picture and drug for the substance. It shows drugs that 'hit you hard' and are very difficult to stop, so today the phrase means 'powerful and highly addictive illegal drugs'.