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

Derived Forms

• ˈdifficultly, adverb

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of difficult¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of difficult¹

C14: back formation from difficulty

Synonym Study

See hard.

Example Sentences

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

From Washington Post

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.

From Outside Online

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.

From ProPublica

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

From Washington Post

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

From Washington Post

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

Being the first to declare feelings is incredibly difficult.

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• ambitious
• arduous
• burdensome
• challenging
• crucial
• demanding
• laborious
• onerous
• painful
• problematic
• severe
• strenuous
• tough
• troublesome