Synonyms for difficult
ˈdɪf ɪˌkʌlt, -kəltdif·fi·cult

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:2.0 / 1 vote

1. difficultadjective

   Synonyms:
   cumbersome, hard, burdensome

2. difficultadjective

   hard, not easy, requiring much effort

   Synonyms:
   cumbersome, burdensome, hard

3. difficultadjective

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

   Synonyms:
   burdensome, hard, cumbersome

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:2.7 / 3 votes

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 AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

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

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:5.0 / 2 votes

1. difficult, hardadjective

   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, difficultadjective

   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

Editors ContributionRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. ardouos

   Submitted by anonymous on December 16, 2019  

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. difficultadjective

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

2. difficultadjective

   Synonyms:
   austere, rigid, unyielding, unaccommodating

3. difficultadjective

   Synonyms:
   fastidious, dainty, squeamish, hard to please

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. difficultadjective

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

   Antonyms:
   facile, light, easy

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:5.0 / 1 vote

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

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How to use difficult in a sentence?

1. William Osler:

   There is no more difficult art to acquire than the art of observation, and for some men it is quite as difficult to record an observation in brief and plain language.

2. Richard Fontaine:

   National security crises are always difficult to deal with. They're more difficult when you have a new team in place... and even more difficult when the team coming in is operating without the full picture.

3. Mark Naison:

   That conversation is difficult, but our history is difficult. Our present is difficult. We need to talk about it.

4. Simone Weil:

   Difficult as it is really to listen to someone in affliction, it is just as difficult for him to know that compassion is listening to him.

5. Chris Beauchamp:

   BP shares have rallied on the back of enthusiastic buying on talk of Shell's interest in the company, but it seems difficult to believe that Shell would make such a big acquisition at this difficult time for the oil market.