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difficult

   Also found in: Acronyms, Idioms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia 0.02 sec.
dif·fi·cult  (df-klt, -klt)
adj.
1. Hard to do or accomplish; demanding considerable effort or skill; arduous: "To entertain is far more difficult than to enlighten" (Anthony Burgess). See Synonyms at hard.
2. Hard to endure; trying: fell upon difficult times.
3. Hard to comprehend or solve: a difficult puzzle.
4. Hard to please, satisfy, or manage: a difficult child.
5. Hard to persuade or convince; stubborn.

[Middle English, back-formation from difficulte, difficulty; see difficulty.]

diffi·cultly adv.

difficult
Adjective
1. not easy to do, understand, or solve
2. not easily pleased or satisfied: a difficult patient
3. full of hardships or trials: he had recently had a difficult time with his job as a self-employed builder
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Adj.1.difficult - 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?"
demanding - requiring more than usually expected or thought due; especially great patience and effort and skill; "found the job very demanding"; "a baby can be so demanding"
effortful - requiring great physical effort
hard - dispassionate; "took a hard look"; "a hard bargainer";
easy - posing no difficulty; requiring little effort; "an easy job"; "an easy problem"; "an easy victory"; "the house is easy to heat"; "satisfied with easy answers"; "took the easy way out of his dilemma"
2.difficult - hard to control; "a difficult child", "an unmanageable situation"
defiant, noncompliant - boldly resisting authority or an opposing force; "brought up to be aggressive and defiant"; "a defiant attitude"
disobedient - not obeying or complying with commands of those in authority; "disobedient children"
intractable - not tractable; difficult to manage or mold; "an intractable disposition"; "intractable pain"; "the most intractable issue of our era"; "intractable metal"

difficult
adjective 1. hard, tough, taxing, demanding, challenging, painful, exacting, formidable, uphill, strenuous, problematic, arduous, onerous, laborious, burdensome, wearisome, no picnic (informal) toilsome, like getting blood out of a stone << OPPOSITE easy
adjective 3. troublesome, trying, awkward, demanding, rigid, stubborn, perverse, fussy, tiresome, intractable, fastidious, fractious, unyielding, obstinate, intransigent, unmanageable, unbending, uncooperative, hard to please, refractory, obstreperous, pig-headed, bull-headed, unaccommodating, unamenable << OPPOSITE cooperative
adjective 4. tough, trying, hard, dark, grim, straitened, full of hardship << OPPOSITE easy
Translations
difficult [ˈdɪfɪkəlt] adjdifícil;
difficult to understand → difícil de entender

difficult [ˈdɪfɪkəlt] adjdifficile;
difficult to understand → difficile à comprendre

difficult [ˈdɪfɪkəlt] adjschwierig;
(task, problem) → schwer, schwierig;
difficult to understand → schwer zu verstehen

difficult [ˈdɪfɪkəlt] adjdifficile;
difficult to understand → difficile da capire

difficult
adj difficult [ˈdifikəlt]
1 hard to do or understand; not easy difficult sums; a difficult task; It is difficult to know what to do for the best. moeilike صَعْب труден obtížný, nesnadný svær; vanskelig schwierig δύσκολος difícil raske دشوار؛ سخت vaikea difficile קָשֶׁה कठिन teško nehéz sulit erfiður, vandasamur difficile 難しい 어려운 sunkus grūts sukar moeilijk vanskelig, tung, strevsom trudny difícil dificil, greu; complicat трудный ťažký težak, zapleten težak svår ยาก zor, güç 困難的 тяжкий, важкий مشکل یا دشوار ہونا khó khăn
2 hard to deal with or needing to be treated etc in a special way a difficult child. moeilike صَعْب، شَكِس труден těžko zvládnutelný vanskelig schwierig δύσκολος difícil, problemático raske بد قلق؛ بهانه گیر vaikea difficile בְּעַיָתִי कठिन problematično dijete nehéz (ember) rewel erfiður difficile 扱いにくい 다루기 힘든, 까다로운 sunkus grūti audzināms bērns rumit moeilijk vanskelig, besværlig trudny difícil dificil трудный tvrdohlavý, náročný težaven svojeglav besvärlig ยุ่งยาก zor 難弄的 вимогливий, вибагливий نک چڑھا khó tính
n difficulty
1 the state or quality of being hard (to do) or not easy I have difficulty in understanding him. moeite صُعوبَه трудност potíž besvær die Schwierigkeit δυσκολία dificultad raskus دشواری؛ سختی vaikeus difficulté קוֹשִׁי कठिनाई poteškoća nehézség kesulitan vandi, erfiðleikar difficoltà 困難 어려움, 곤란 sunkumas grūtības kesusahan moeilijkheid, moeite vanske(lighet), besvær, strev trudność dificuldade di­fi­­cultate затруднение ťažkosť, problém težava poteškoća svårighet ความยากลำบาก zorluk, güçlük 困難 важкість دشواری کی کیفیت sự khó khăn
2 an obstacle or objection He has a habit of foreseeing difficulties. moeilikheid عَقَبَه، عائِق пречка obtíž vanskelighed die Schwierigkeit εμπόδιο dificultad, obstáculo takistus مخمصه؛ گرفتاری vaikeus difficulté בְּעַיָה दिक्कत prepreka, poteškoća akadály halangan erfiðleikar, vandamál difficoltà 障害 장애, 난국, 반대 kliūtis šķērslis; kavēklis susah moeilijkheid, bezwaar vanskelighet, besværlighet trudność dificuldade greutăţi трудность prekážka težava prepreka svårighet อุปสรรค engel, mania 艱難 перешкода پریشانی یا رکاوٹ khó khăn
3 (especially in plural) trouble, especially money trouble The firm was in difficulties. moeilikhede, nood ضيق، وَرْطَه затруднения těžkosti, těžká situace i pengevanskeligheder; i nød (Geld)Schwierigkeiten (pl.) δυσχέρεια, προβλήματα (πληθ.) dificultad, dificultades, problemas (rahalised) raskused تنگنا؛ مضیقه vaikeudet embarras קְשָׁיִים कठिनाई financijske nevolje pénzügyi probléma kesulitan kröggur, fjárhagserfiðleikar difficoltà 窮乏 곤경, 재정난 sunkumai grūtības kepayahan moeilijkheid pengevansker/-knipe kłopot dificuldade strâm­torare (материальные) затруднения ťažkosti težava poteškoća []knipa ความเดือดร้อน sorun, sıkıntı 困境 труднощі مشکل gặp khó khăn


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Writing for children rather than about them is very difficult as everybody who has tried it knows.
The soil of all the former states has the appearance of an alluvial deposit; and isolated rocks have been found, of a nature and in situations which render it difficult to refute the opinion that they have been transferred to their present beds by floating ice.
And, finally, although such be the ground of our opinions, I remarked that a plurality of suffrages is no guarantee of truth where it is at all of difficult discovery, as in such cases it is much more likely that it will be found by one than by many.
 
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