1.AdverbIn a way that is more difficult than necessary; by adverse experience.
"He never asks for advice; he always does things the hard way.; They'll find out the hard way that there's no such thing as a free lunch.; I don't know how well seatbelts protect you, but I certainly don't want to find out the hard way, so I use them either way.; You can't assume that someone else will call an ambulance. I learnt that the hard way after crashing my bike."