difficult

[ dif-i-kuhlt, -kuhlt ]

/ ˈdɪf ɪˌkʌlt, -kəlt /

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adjective

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

hard to understand or solve: a difficult problem.

hard to deal with or get on with: a difficult pupil.

hard to please or satisfy: a difficult employer.

hard to persuade or induce; stubborn: a difficult old man.

disadvantageous; trying; hampering: The operation was performed under the most difficult conditions.

fraught with hardship, especially financial hardship: We saw some difficult times during the depression years.

Nearby words

Origin of difficult

1350–1400; Middle English, back formation from difficulty

SYNONYMS FOR difficult

1 arduous. See hard.

2 intricate, perplexing, involved, knotty.

4 particular, finical, fussy.

5 obdurate, uncompromising.

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ANTONYMS FOR difficult

1 easy.

2 simple.

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Related forms

dif·fi·cult·ly, adverbnon·dif·fi·cult, adjectivequa·si-dif·fi·cult, adjectivequa·si-dif·fi·cult·ly, adverb

su·per·dif·fi·cult, adjectivesu·per·dif·fi·cult·ly, adverbun·dif·fi·cult, adjectiveun·dif·fi·cult·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for difficult

The choice between freedom and fear is not difficult when seen with perspective.
Why We Stand With Charlie Hebdo—And You Should Too|John Avlon|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Although Huckabee's condescending tone - like that of an elementary school history teacher - makes it difficult to take seriously.
Huckabee 2016: Bend Over and Take It Like a Prisoner!|Olivia Nuzzi|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Democrats find themselves in the difficult position of defending governments that spend more but do less.
How Public Sector Unions Divide the Democrats|Daniel DiSalvo|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For starters, that religious-themed movies are difficult to make and even more difficult to make successful.
Are You There, God? It’s Nicolas Cage and the Year in Cinematically Pimped Religion|Matthew Paul Turner|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

In contrast to Obamacare, a neo-WPA would have been a difficult target for the GOP.
Time to Bring Back the Truman Democrats|Joel Kotkin|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The Great Man is, I suppose, among the most difficult themes to treat convincingly in fiction.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 156, May 7, 1919.|Various
They were kept at hand constantly for any light they might cast on difficult passages.
The Greatest English Classic|Cleland Boyd McAfee
With the war effectually over we enter a new economic era, and its immediate effect on prices is difficult to anticipate.
Herbert Hoover|Vernon Kellogg
The tracery of a rose window over the door of the North aisle, is gone, and perhaps it is difficult to decide what it meant.
Guernsey Pictorial Directory and Stranger's Guide|Thomas Bellamy
You live in a land where instruction should not be difficult to obtain.
The Fortunes Of Glencore|Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for difficult

difficult

/ (ˈdɪfɪkəlt) /

adjective

not easy to do; requiring efforta difficult job

not easy to understand or solve; intricatea difficult problem

hard to deal with; troublesomea difficult child

not easily convinced, pleased, or satisfieda difficult audience

full of hardships or trialsdifficult times ahead

Derived Formsdifficultly, adverb

Word Origin for difficult

C14: back formation from difficulty

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

Word Origin and History for difficult

difficult

adj.

c.1400, apparently a back-formation from difficulty. French has difficile, Latin difficilis. Of persons, "hard to please," from 1580s.

difficult

adjective

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Origin of difficult

Examples from the Web for difficult

British Dictionary definitions for difficult

difficult

adjective

Word Origin for difficult

Word Origin and History for difficult

difficult