Synonyms for difficult
ˈdɪf ɪˌkʌlt, -kəlt

Princeton's WordNet(5.00 / 2 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. difficult, hard(adj)

   not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure

   "a difficult task"; "nesting places on the cliffs are difficult of access"; "difficult times"; "why is it so hard for you to keep a secret?"

   Synonyms:
   severe, voiceless, arduous, grueling, tough, toilsome, concentrated, heavy, laborious, hard, gruelling, intemperate, knockout, punishing, unvoiced, operose, backbreaking, surd, strong, unmanageable

   Antonyms:
   uncomplicated, cushy, casual, hands-down, soft, clean, effortless, unproblematic, smooth, simple, easy, painless, simplified, elementary, user-friendly, easygoing

2. unmanageable, difficult(adj)

   hard to control

   "a difficult child", "an unmanageable situation"

   Synonyms:
   uncorrectable, uncontrollable, hard, unwieldy, unmanageable

   Antonyms:
   easy, hands-down, cushy, clean, simple, uncomplicated, user-friendly, elementary, casual, unproblematic, painless, smooth, easygoing, simplified, soft, effortless

Wiktionary(2.00 / 1 vote)Rate these synonyms:

1. difficult(adjective)

   Synonyms:
   cumbersome, hard, burdensome

2. difficult(adjective)

   hard, not easy, requiring much effort

   Synonyms:
   cumbersome, burdensome, hard

3. difficult(adjective)

   hard to manage, uncooperative, troublesome; eg. said of a person, a horse, etc.

   Synonyms:
   burdensome, hard, cumbersome

English Synonyms and Antonyms(2.67 / 3 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. difficult

   Arduous (Latin arduus, steep) signifies primarily so steep and lofty as to be difficult of ascent, and hence applies to that which involves great and sustained exertion and ordinarily for a lofty aim; great learning can only be won by arduous toil. Hard applies to anything that resists our endeavors as a scarcely penetrable mass resists our physical force. Anything is hard that involves tax and strain whether of the physical or mental powers. Difficult is not used of that which merely taxes physical force; a dead lift is called hard rather than difficult; breaking stone on the road would be called hard rather than difficult work; that is difficult which involves skill, sagacity, or address, with or without a considerable expenditure of physical force; a geometrical problem may be difficult to solve, a tangled skein to unravel; a mountain difficult to ascend. Hard may be active or passive; a thing may be hard to do or hard to bear. Arduous is always active. That which is laborious or toilsome simply requires the steady application of labor or toil till accomplished; toilsome is the stronger word. That which is onerous (Latin onus, a burden) is mentally burdensome or oppressive. Responsibility may be onerous even when it involves no special exertion.

   Synonyms:
   arduous, exhausting, hard, laborious, onerous, severe, toilsome, trying

   Antonyms:
   easy, facile, light, pleasant, slight, trifling, trivial

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. difficult

   Synonyms:
   hard, intricate, involved, perplexing, enigmatical, obscure, trying, arduous, troublesome, up hill, unmanageable, unamenable, reserved, opposed

   Antonyms:
   easy, plain, straight, pimple, lucid, categorical, tractable, amenable, unreserved, favorable

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. ardouos

   Submitted by anonymous on December 16, 2019  

Dictionary of English Synonymes(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. difficult(a.)

   Synonyms:
   hard, arduous. herculean, up-hill, beset with difficulty

2. difficult(a.)

   Synonyms:
   austere, rigid, unyielding, unaccommodating

3. difficult(a.)

   Synonyms:
   fastidious, dainty, squeamish, hard to please

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated Words(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. difficult(a)

   Synonyms:
   arduous, onerous, complicated, intricate, hard, uncompliant, intractable, perverse, fastidious, exacting

   Antonyms:
   facile, light, easy

PPDB, the paraphrase database(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate these paraphrases:

1. List of paraphrases for "difficult":

   hard, challenging, tough, difficulty, arduous, complicated, difficulties, difficile, complex, tricky, thorny, problematic, delicate, harsh, hardship, easy, awkward, daunting, intractable, challenge, heavy, laborious, picky, painful, uphill, sensitive, dire, demanding, onerous, cumbersome, troubled, troublesome, painstaking, elusive, serious

How to pronounce difficult?

Alex

US English

Daniel

British

Karen

Australian

Veena

Indian

How to say difficult in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use difficult in a sentence?

1. Evan Feinberg:

   I made the difficult decision to leave Generation Opportunity because I was really excited about a new project that I'll be leading, i look forward to telling the world about it.

2. Jessica Mann:

   I know the history of my relationship with him, i know it was complicated and difficult. That doesn't change the fact that he raped me.

3. Bernie Sanders:

   Puerto Rico is now in very, very difficult straits. People are leaving the island, unemployment is high, schools are being closed, bottom line is you cannot get blood from a stone. You can't push more austerity on a people who are already hurting. The goal is to rebuild the economy.

4. Javier Capape:

   It's difficult to assess - it will depend on whether they can reach an agreement in the short run, i wouldn't be surprised to see some refocusing in Qatar if the situation continues.

5. State John Kerry:

   While sometimes things look bleak and difficult, there’s opportunity in everything, and you have to find the opportunity, you have to work to do that with creative leadership, i am absolutely confident that if people approach this thoughtfully, studiously, soberly, with creativity, there is a way to find strength out of whatever we do ahead.

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