hardˈ-won adjective
Won with toil and difficulty
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Main Entry: ↑hard
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hard-won UK US adjective
achieved only after a lot of effort
hard-won success
Thesaurus: difficult to do and involving a lot of effortsynonym
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/ˈhɑɚdˈwʌn/ adj [more \hard-won; most \hard-won]
: ↑hard-earned
a hard-won victory
our hard-won reputation for quality
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that you only get after fighting or working hard for it
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She was not going to give up her hard-won freedom so easily.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.