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View synonyms for difficult

difficult

[ dif-i-kuhlt, -kuhlt ]

adjective

  1. not easily or readily done; requiring much labor, skill, or planning to be performed successfully; hard:

    a difficult job.

    Synonyms: arduous

    Antonyms: easy

  2. hard to understand or solve:

    a difficult problem.

    Synonyms: knotty, involved, intricate

    Antonyms: simple

  3. hard to deal with or get on with:

    a difficult pupil.

  4. hard to please or satisfy:

    a difficult employer.

    Synonyms: fussy, finical, particular

  5. hard to persuade or induce; stubborn:

    a difficult old man.

    Synonyms: uncompromising, obdurate

  6. disadvantageous; trying; hampering:

    The operation was performed under the most difficult conditions.

  7. fraught with hardship, especially financial hardship:

    We saw some difficult times during the depression years.



difficult

/ ˈdɪfɪkəlt /

adjective

  1. not easy to do; requiring effort

    a difficult job

  2. not easy to understand or solve; intricate

    a difficult problem

  3. hard to deal with; troublesome

    a difficult child

  4. not easily convinced, pleased, or satisfied

    a difficult audience

  5. full of hardships or trials

    difficult times ahead

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • ˈdifficultly, adverb
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Other Words From

  • diffi·cultly adverb
  • non·diffi·cult adjective
  • quasi-diffi·cult adjective
  • quasi-diffi·cultly adverb
  • super·diffi·cult adjective
  • super·diffi·cultly adverb
  • un·diffi·cult adjective
  • un·diffi·cultly adverb
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Word History and Origins

Origin of difficult1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, back formation from difficulty ( def )
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Word History and Origins

Origin of difficult1

C14: back formation from difficulty
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Synonym Study

See hard.
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Example Sentences

These are difficult conversations that aren’t going to go away whether or not we play the national anthem.

It’s really difficult to do a cost-benefit analysis when you can’t quantify the benefits, which is the case with rotational-energy protection systems.

That would make it much more difficult to operate a site like Yelp, which relies on having negative user content that people that it’s about would want taken down.

Under normal circumstances, with a defeated incumbent president, it is difficult for a party to change.

The Washington Football Team is also in need of a quarterback, but it’s difficult to imagine an intra-divisional trade.

The choice between freedom and fear is not difficult when seen with perspective.

Although Huckabee's condescending tone - like that of an elementary school history teacher - makes it difficult to take seriously.

That makes it incredibly difficult to determine the effects of airstrikes, for example.

Being the first to declare feelings is incredibly difficult.

White rappers are always difficult to comprehend, difficult to deal with.

In the early stages of chronic nephritis, when diagnosis is difficult, it is usually normal.

It was difficult, with the mean appliances of the time, to wring subsistence from the reluctant earth.

It was difficult to describe—a little sterner, a little wilder, a faint emphasis of the barbaric peering through it.

Ajoutez cecy, s'il vous plaist, la grande difficult qu'il y a de tirer d'eux les mots mesmes qu'ils ont.

Numbers have dribbled back from firing line and cannot be collected in this difficult country.

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