difficult
386
2.1
- adjective
- /ˈdɪfɪkəlt/
:
difícil
- She found it difficult to cooperate with her unresponsive partner on the assignment.
- make life difficult
- a difficult child
- difficult to manage
Not invited the difficult person or B.
- Not invited the difficult person or B.
- Yes, even our just very difficult to control Strudwick.
- And too often in these places there are difficult toxic folks.
- Any exercise is making life difficult for the body.
- I think in this in particular that the difficult case here is the children.
- So that's a difficult person to be with.
- I mean, I was, I was a difficult kid in lots of ways.
- So this can get to be really, really difficult to live with.
- And they've all said it's too difficult to work with him.
Examples
-
Yeah, Robin and I are having a difficult time and I moved out.
-
You may be surprised if this happens, especially in these difficult economic times.
Academic text (2011) -
And that was a very difficult place to be in.
-
I have to ask sort of a difficult question here.
-
So it's extremely difficult to be a bear.
-
Who among us was the most difficult to travel with for two months?
-
But these are very difficult things to manage.
-
The committee members were divided on the difficult issue of how to handle the film.
Academic text (1999) -
Chelsea's had a difficult childhood.
-
The existence of these organizations has made it difficult for politicians to make deals behind the scenes.
Academic text (1999)
Synonyms
∞
1.1
Needing a lot of effort and often strict or severe
∞
2.6
Hard to do or understand and needing a lot of effort
214
3.9
Difficult to do because it has hidden problems
183
4.4
Hard to do and needing a lot of effort
133
5.6
Hard to deal with and often not clear
78
6.2
So hard to do that you feel too worried to try
49
3.9
Causing worry or annoyance and hard to deal with
29
7.7
Very difficult to do and needing a lot of effort over a long time
24
8.1
Causes a lot of work or trouble
22
8.7
Hard to manage, change, or control
18
7.1
Causing a lot of extra work or worry
16
3.3
Hard to remove or cure even after trying
5
6.1
A person who is not easily satisfied and often complains
4
5.3
A situation or task that is hard to do
2
8.1
Hard to understand or deal with
1
8.1
Difficult to solve or understand, often about problems
1
5.1
Fairly difficult and needing some skill or care to do
1
5.1
Hard to deal with and making people feel tired or annoyed
Needing a lot of time, effort, or attention
Too difficult or expensive for someone to manage easily
Antonyms
Compounds
How Difficult
Surface Forms
Etymology
Difficult comes from Latin parts dis- 'not' and facere 'to do', and people used it for things or people who were 'not easy to get to do something'. So difficult can also mean a person or thing that is hard to control or manage.