hard done by

adjective

used, cheated, or exploited by

“King should feel a bit hard done by after being replaced in the team.”

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Meanings

adjectivehard done by (comparative more hard done by, superlative most hard done by)

comparative more hard done by · superlative most hard done by

  1. UKidiomaticused, cheated, or exploited by

    King should feel a bit hard done by after being replaced in the team.

    1 more example

    United could have made it 3-0 with further chances, but Norwich's Andrew Crofts also had a shot saved and his side can come away from this encounter with some reason to feel hard done by.

    2011 October 1, Alistair Magowan, “Man Utd 2 - 0 Norwich”, in BBC Sport
Cite this entry
APA

hard done by. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hard%20done%20by

MLA

“hard done by.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hard%20done%20by. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “hard done by,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/hard%20done%20by.

Source: hard done by on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.