difficult (ˈdɪfɪkəltlt
)
Definitions
adjective
- not easy to do; requiring effort ⇒
a difficult job
- not easy to understand or solve; intricate ⇒
a difficult problem
- hard to deal with; troublesome ⇒
a difficult child
- not easily convinced, pleased, or satisfied ⇒
a difficult audience
- full of hardships or trials ⇒
difficult times ahead
Alternative Forms
ˈdifficultly adverbWord Origin
C14: back formation from difficultySynonyms
View thesaurus entry=
hard,
tough,
taxing,
demanding,
challenging,
painful,
exacting,
formidable,
uphill,
strenuous,
problematic,
arduous,
onerous,
laborious,
burdensome,
wearisome,
no picnic,
toilsome,
like getting blood out of a stone
=
problematical,
involved,
complex,
complicated,
delicate,
obscure,
abstract,
baffling,
intricate,
perplexing,
thorny,
knotty,
abstruse,
ticklish,
enigmatical,
=
troublesome,
trying,
awkward,
demanding,
rigid,
stubborn,
perverse,
fussy,
tiresome,
intractable,
fastidious,
fractious,
unyielding,
obstinate,
intransigent,
unmanageable,
unbending,
uncooperative,
hard to please
refractory,
obstreperous,
pig-headed,
bull-headed,
unaccommodating,
unamenable
Translations
- British English:
difficult
If something is difficult, it is not easy to do or to understand.The homework was too difficult for us.ˈdɪfɪklt ADJECTIVE The homework was too difficult for us.
- Spanish:
difícil
adj
- French:
difficile
adj
- German:
schwierig
adj
- Chinese: 困难的 adj
- Arabic: صَعْب adj
- Portuguese: difícil adj
- Russian: сложный adj сложная
- Croatian: težak adj teška
- Czech: obtížný adj
- Danish: svær adj
- Dutch: moeilijk adj
- Finnish: vaikea adj
- Greek: δύσκολος adj δύσκολη
- Italian: difficile adj
- Japanese: 困難な no_posp
- Korean: 어려운 adj
- Norwegian: vanskelig adj
- Polish: trudny adj trudna
- Brazilian Portuguese: difícil adj
- European Spanish:
difícil
adj
- Swedish: svår adj svårt
- Thai: ยาก adj
- Turkish: güç adj
- Vietnamese: khó khăn adj
Usage examples
I believe the plan was to make life as difficult as possible for your new masters.
, TREASON KEEP (2001)Some gardeners prefer to prune now - before the leaves have expanded - because the job is more difficult later on.
Country Life (2004)In any case ethical activism and state sovereignty are inherently difficult bedfellows within this environment.
Irish Times (2002)'At the start I thought it's going to be a difficult round of about 80 at the worst,' said Katayama.
Glasgow Herald (2001)Without this hope many of us would find life very difficult indeed.
, BEYOND FEAR (2002)