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.

Wiktionary2.0 / 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 Antonyms2.7 / 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

Princeton's WordNet5.0 / 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 Contribution0.0 / 0 votes

  1. ardouos

    Submitted by anonymous on December 16, 2019  

Dictionary of English Synonymes0.0 / 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 Words0.0 / 0 votes

  1. difficultadjective

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

    Antonyms:
    facile, light, easy

How to pronounce difficult?

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Words popularity by usage frequency

rankingword
#258reserved
#596hard
#621easy
#1340strong
#1376involved
#1429trying
#1758complex
#1928difficult
#2107serious
#2145heavy
#2185challenge
#3826sensitive
#3964severe
#4924tough
#5311difficulty
#5975difficulties
#6114opposed
#6722challenging
#7037complicated
#9372painful
#9543demanding
#10268concentrated
#11437harsh
#11658delicate
#11950troubled
#13380obscure
#14988problematic
#15928tricky
#16120dire
#17452awkward
#18786hardship
#20086intricate
#20139elusive
#22594daunting
#24199knockout
#26847troublesome
#27419cumbersome
#28813uphill
#32099picky
#32471punishing
#37611exhausting
#38128burdensome
#40751uncontrollable
#40798arduous
#42553onerous
#42831intractable
#48883thorny
#52801grueling
#53660laborious
#53854perplexing
#54309painstaking
#58750unwieldy
#64747unmanageable
#67165difficile
#69752voiceless
#90856gruelling
#127101intemperate
#180754unvoiced
#183574backbreaking
#212583uncorrectable
#218887toilsome
#315651surd

How to use difficult in a sentence?

  1. Delmore Schwartz:

    Love is the most difficult and dangerous form of courage. Courage is the most desperate, admirable and noble kind of love.

  2. Dannel Malloy:

    It's a difficult situation that's played itself out in Bridgeport, and an unfortunate one.

  3. Henning Gloystein:

    Sanctioning coal will also make life much more difficult for European utilities, which consume a lot of Russian coal, but energy companies can cope with this.

  4. Vincent Cochetel:

    We are concerned with the situation where no one is really assuming leadership in the response, which makes it very difficult for humanitarian operators to participate in the efforts.

  5. Edmund Outslay:

    The current arm's length rules are always difficult to enforce because of the lack of a comparable price (in the drugs industry).


Translations for difficult

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