Nearby Words
Synonyms
adjective
1.
not easily or readily done; requiring much labor, skill, or planning to be performed successfully; hard: a difficult job.
2.
hard to understand or solve: a difficult problem.
3.
hard to deal with or get on with: a difficult pupil.
4.
hard to please or satisfy: a difficult employer.
5.
EXPANDhard to persuade or induce; stubborn: a difficult old man.
6.
disadvantageous; trying; hampering: The operation was performed under the most difficult conditions.
7.
COLLAPSEfraught with hardship, especially financial hardship: We saw some difficult times during the depression years.
Related forms
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
EXPANDSynonyms
1. arduous. See hard. 2. intricate, perplexing, involved, knotty. 4. particular, finical, fussy. 5. obdurate, uncompromising.
1. arduous. See hard. 2. intricate, perplexing, involved, knotty. 4. particular, finical, fussy. 5. obdurate, uncompromising.
Antonyms
1. easy. 2. simple.
1. easy. 2. simple.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
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Link To difficult
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Difficult
is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
Example Sentences
- Finding a balance is one of the difficult issues in academia.
- It was very difficult if you didn't know your way around or didn't have access.
- Control is difficult, because the fungus can survive in the soil for years without a host.
Collins
World English Dictionary
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
difficult
c.1400, apparently a back formation from difficulty. French has difficile, Latin difficilis. Of persons, "hard to please," from 1580s.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Cite This Source
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