Phrase guide

hard pill to swallow

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Synonym of bitter pill to swallow.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

Examples

  • That my own son could have done something so horrible is a hard pill to swallow.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bitter pill to swallow

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see hard, pill, to, swallow.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.