Question

Read paragraph 2.

And it would really be those women, expecting things of her. They would be so affable at first. She had been through it a million times—all her life—all eternity. They would smile those hateful women’s smiles—smirks—self-satisfied smiles as if everybody were agreed about everything. She loathed women. They always smiled. All the teachers had at school, all the girls, but Lilla. Eve did . . . maddeningly sometimes . . . Mother . . . it was the only funny horrid thing about her. Harriett didn’t.... Harriett laughed. She was strong and hard somehow....

If the writer wanted to replace the word hard with a term that has the same denotation (meaning) but a more positive connotation (tone), which word would be the best choice?

A. unyielding
B.
ruthless

C.
resilient

D.
rigid

Answer 1

C. resilient

"Resilient" conveys being strong and able to withstand difficulty (same basic meaning as "hard") but has a positive tone, unlike "ruthless," "unyielding," or "rigid."