difficult
[ dif-i-kuhlt, -kuhlt ]
/ ˈdɪf ɪˌkʌlt, -kəlt /
adjective
QUIZZES
THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?
Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.
Question 1 of 8
Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?
Origin of difficult
1350–1400; Middle English, back formation from difficulty
SYNONYMS FOR difficult
1 arduous.
synonym study for difficult
1. See hard.
OTHER WORDS FROM difficult
Words nearby difficult
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for difficult
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 forms of difficult
difficultly, adverbWord 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