What is another word for difficult?
Synonyms for difficult
ˈdɪf ɪˌkʌlt, -kəltdif·fi·cult
This thesaurus page includes all potential synonyms, words with the same meaning and similar terms for the word difficult.
Wiktionary
difficultadjective
Synonyms:
cumbersome, hard, burdensomedifficultadjective
hard, not easy, requiring much effort
Synonyms:
cumbersome, burdensome, harddifficultadjective
hard to manage, uncooperative, troublesome; eg. said of a person, a horse, etc.
Synonyms:
burdensome, hard, cumbersome
English Synonyms and Antonyms
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, tryingAntonyms:
easy, facile, light, pleasant, slight, trifling, trivial
Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and Antonyms
difficult
Synonyms:
hard, intricate, involved, perplexing, enigmatical, obscure, trying, arduous, troublesome, up hill, unmanageable, unamenable, reserved, opposedAntonyms:
easy, plain, straight, pimple, lucid, categorical, tractable, amenable, unreserved, favorable
Princeton's WordNet
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, unmanageableAntonyms:
uncomplicated, cushy, casual, hands-down, soft, clean, effortless, unproblematic, smooth, simple, easy, painless, simplified, elementary, user-friendly, easygoingunmanageable, difficultadjective
hard to control
"a difficult child", "an unmanageable situation"
Synonyms:
uncorrectable, uncontrollable, hard, unwieldy, unmanageableAntonyms:
easy, hands-down, cushy, clean, simple, uncomplicated, user-friendly, elementary, casual, unproblematic, painless, smooth, easygoing, simplified, soft, effortless
Editors Contribution
ardouos
Dictionary of English Synonymes
difficultadjective
Synonyms:
hard, arduous. herculean, up-hill, beset with difficultydifficultadjective
Synonyms:
austere, rigid, unyielding, unaccommodatingdifficultadjective
Synonyms:
fastidious, dainty, squeamish, hard to please
Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated Words
difficultadjective
Synonyms:
arduous, onerous, complicated, intricate, hard, uncompliant, intractable, perverse, fastidious, exacting
PPDB, the paraphrase database
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
Words popularity by usage frequency
ranking | word | |
---|---|---|
#258 | reserved | |
#596 | hard | |
#621 | easy | |
#1340 | strong | |
#1376 | involved | |
#1429 | trying | |
#1758 | complex | |
#1928 | difficult | |
#2107 | serious | |
#2145 | heavy | |
#2185 | challenge | |
#3826 | sensitive | |
#3964 | severe | |
#4924 | tough | |
#5311 | difficulty | |
#5975 | difficulties | |
#6114 | opposed | |
#6722 | challenging | |
#7037 | complicated | |
#9372 | painful | |
#9543 | demanding | |
#10268 | concentrated | |
#11437 | harsh | |
#11658 | delicate | |
#11950 | troubled | |
#13380 | obscure | |
#14988 | problematic | |
#15928 | tricky | |
#16120 | dire | |
#17452 | awkward | |
#18786 | hardship | |
#20086 | intricate | |
#20139 | elusive | |
#22594 | daunting | |
#24199 | knockout | |
#26847 | troublesome | |
#27419 | cumbersome | |
#28813 | uphill | |
#32099 | picky | |
#32471 | punishing | |
#37611 | exhausting | |
#38128 | burdensome | |
#40751 | uncontrollable | |
#40798 | arduous | |
#42553 | onerous | |
#42831 | intractable | |
#48883 | thorny | |
#52801 | grueling | |
#53660 | laborious | |
#53854 | perplexing | |
#54309 | painstaking | |
#58750 | unwieldy | |
#64747 | unmanageable | |
#67165 | difficile | |
#69752 | voiceless | |
#90856 | gruelling | |
#127101 | intemperate | |
#180754 | unvoiced | |
#183574 | backbreaking | |
#212583 | uncorrectable | |
#218887 | toilsome | |
#315651 | surd |
How to use difficult in a sentence?
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.
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.
That conversation is difficult, but our history is difficult. Our present is difficult. We need to talk about it.
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.
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.
Translations for difficult
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- moeilikAfrikaans
- صعبArabic
- çətinAzerbaijani
- ҡыйын, ауырBashkir
- цяжкі, трудныBelarusian
- труден, мъчен, тежъкBulgarian
- কঠিনBengali
- དཀའ་ངལ་ཅན, དཀའ་མོ, ཁག་པོ, དཀའ་ལས་ཁག་པོTibetan Standard
- difícilCatalan, Valencian
- obtížný, těžkýCzech
- тѩжькъOld Church Slavonic, Church Slavonic, Old Bulgarian
- caled, anoddWelsh
- vanskeligDanish
- schwer, schwierigGerman
- δύσκολοςGreek
- malfacilaEsperanto
- difícilSpanish
- keerulineEstonian
- سخت, صعب, دشوار, مشکلPersian
- vaikea, hankalaFinnish
- torførurFaroese
- difficileFrench
- swierWestern Frisian
- deacairIrish
- cruaidh, trom, doirbh, mì-fhurasda, duilichScottish Gaelic
- difícilGalician
- કઠિનGujarati
- doillee, trome, mooar, creoi, neuaashaghManx
- מסובך, קשהHebrew
- कठिन, मुश्किल, विकटHindi
- difisilHaitian Creole
- nehézHungarian
- դժվար, ծանր, բարդArmenian
- difficileInterlingua
- desfacilaIdo
- erfiðurIcelandic
- difficileItalian
- 困難, 難しいJapanese
- ძნელიGeorgian
- ауыр, қиынKazakh
- ពិបាកKhmer
- ಕಟ್Kannada
- 어렵다Korean
- زهحمهت, سهخت, گرانKurdish
- кыйын, оорKyrgyz
- difficilisLatin
- ຍາກLao
- sunkusLithuanian
- sarežģītsLatvian
- тежок, маченMacedonian
- бэрх, хүнд хэцүүMongolian
- diffiċliMaltese
- ခဲယဉ်းBurmese
- lastig, moeilijkDutch
- vanskeligNorwegian
- nantłʼahNavajo, Navaho
- malaisitOccitan
- ਕਠਿਨPanjabi, Punjabi
- trudny, ciężkiPolish
- ګران, مشکلPashto, Pushto
- difícilPortuguese
- difícil, greu, anevoios, complicatRomanian
- тяжкий, трудный, тяжёлыйRussian
- कठिनSanskrit
- težak, тежакSerbo-Croatian
- අමාරුSinhala, Sinhalese
- obtiažny, ťažkýSlovak
- težekSlovene
- vështirëAlbanian
- svårSwedish
- கடினமானTamil
- కఠినమైన, కష్టమైనTelugu
- душвор, мушкил, сахтTajik
- ยากThai
- çatak, müçgil, çetin, kynTurkmen
- mahirapTagalog
- zor, güçTurkish
- кыен, авырTatar
- трудний, важкийUkrainian
- دشوار, کٹھن, مشکلUrdu
- qiyin, mushkulUzbek
- khó, khó khănVietnamese
- שווער, האַרבYiddish
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