tricky
Americanadjective
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trickier,
comparative
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trickiest
superlative
adjective
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involving snags or difficulties
a tricky job
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needing careful and tactful handling
a tricky situation
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characterized by tricks; sly; wily
a tricky dealer
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of tricky
Explanation
If something is tricky, it's difficult, like a tricky puzzle. And if a person is tricky, they're sneaky, skilled, or crafty, like a tricky magician who makes it look easy to pull quarters out of your ears. A tricky riddle is extremely hard to figure out, and a tricky question on a math test is even trickier if you can't use a calculator to solve it. In their 1986 rap classic, "It's Tricky," Run-DMC claimed that "it's tricky...to rock a rhyme that's right on time" — or in other words, it's really difficult to write a clever rap lyric.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Unfortunately, many Americans don’t always have the time or live in safe enough neighborhoods to exercise, which can make the diet’s lifestyle components tricky to adopt.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
During their conversation, chief research officer Mark Chen made a curious observation about how the models approach tricky problems.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
It’s tricky to predict how votes in California and Florida will turn out based on Missouri’s results, said LaCombe.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
Recycling textiles can be particularly tricky because a lot of clothing is made from a blend of materials from polyester—which is derived from oil—to cotton, rayon and nylon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
Shooting at this time of day was tricky, and he needed artificial light to balance out the fading glow of the sun.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
The second trickier and clumsier aside happens when Banderas’ chef tells Tony the tragedy of 17th century French cook François Vatel, who literally fell on his sword before serving a banquet to Louis XIV.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Heeney's most pressing concern was a potential influenza outbreak, he said, describing it as one of the "trickier" viruses.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
If your income makes it trickier for you to qualify for a traditional loan, you have alternatives.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
Their task gets trickier if they make it through to round two with potential opponents Iceland proving to be difficult to break down in their matches against England this year.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
The other part was trickier, but the waif was there to help her.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Perhaps the trickiest what-if scenario involves eldercare concerns.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
The deeper mystery, one I’d still like explained, is how Early found the time to learn how to mimic Douglas Sirk’s sneaky sincerity, the trickiest of directorial tones.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Warmer days often means greater pollen emission and if sunny, dry and breezy they are notoriously the trickiest days for allergy sufferers.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
The trickiest part may be settling on a share price -- the cost of one piece of ownership in the company when it first hits the market.
From Barron's ● May 17, 2026
Sobered by the force of the rising tempest, I realized that I’d gotten down the trickiest ground just in the nick of time.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
