hardwon

Hardwon is an adjective used in English to describe something that has been achieved through significant effort, struggle, or adversity. It is most commonly written as hard-won, a hyphenated form, and is used with nouns such as victory, wisdom, or compromise to convey that the outcome required resilience or sacrifice.

Etymology and form: the word combines hard and won, with the latter traditionally functioning as the past participle of win. The standard spelling in contemporary writing is hard-won; the unhyphenated hardwon appears occasionally in slogans, brand names, or stylized titles, but is far less common in formal prose. Some dictionaries recognize hard-won as the primary form and list hardwon as an alternative or historical variant.

Usage notes: hard-won typically precedes a noun (a hard-won victory) but can function as a predicative descriptor (The victory was hard-won). It conveys that success was not easily achieved and often implies perseverance, effort, or enduring hardship. Synonyms include earned, hard-fought, arduous, and difficult-to-attain.

In culture: beyond ordinary usage, hard-won appears in titles, memoirs, or journalism to emphasize character growth or the high cost of outcomes. As a concept, it is linked to themes of resilience, perseverance, and the long-term impacts of effort.

See also: hard-won, hard-fought, perseverance, resilience, determination.