difficult

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.

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

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diffi·cultly adv.

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difficult [ˈdɪfɪk^əlt]

adj

1. not easy to do; requiring effort a difficult job

2. not easy to understand or solve; intricate a difficult problem

3. hard to deal with; troublesome a difficult child

4. not easily convinced, pleased, or satisfied

5. full of hardships or trials difficult times ahead

[back formation from difficulty]

difficultly  adv

Thesaurus

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?" hard 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" unmanageable 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"

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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 It is difficult for single mothers to get jobs.
hard light, easy, manageable, easy-peasy (slang)

2. problematical, involved, complex, complicated, delicate, obscure, abstract, baffling, intricate, perplexing, thorny, knotty, abstruse, ticklish, enigmatical It was a very difficult decision to make.
problematical simple, obvious, plain, straightforward, uncomplicated

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 I had a feeling you were going to be difficult about this.
troublesome pleasant, accommodating, cooperative, amenable

4. tough, trying, hard, dark, grim, straitened, full of hardship These are difficult times.
tough easy, pleasant

Translations

difficult [ˈdɪfɪkəlt] ADJ

1. (= hard) [task, book, question] → difícil; [writer] → complicado, complejo
there's nothing difficult about it → no es nada difícil
it is difficult to describe the feeling → es difícil describir la sensación
these dogs are difficult to control → estos perros son difíciles de controlar
many youngsters find it difficult to get work → a muchos jóvenes les resulta difícil encontrar trabajo
it was difficult for him to leave her → le resultó difícil dejarla
she is determined to make life difficult for him → está decidida a hacerle la vida imposible
to put sb in a difficult position → poner a algn en una posición comprometida
she is determined to make things difficult for him → está decidida a hacerle la vida imposible
this is a difficult time for us → son tiempos difíciles para nosotros EASY, DIFFICULT, IMPOSSIBLE

2. (= awkward) [person, child, character] → difícil
why are you always trying to be difficult? → ¿por qué siempre estás intentando crear problemas?

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difficult [ˈdɪfɪkəlt] adj

(= hard) → difficile
to be difficult to do
This decision is difficult to understand → Cette décision est difficile à comprendre.
It's difficult to choose → C'est difficile de choisir.
it's difficult to understand why ... → c'est difficile de comprendre pourquoi ...
it's difficult to understand how ... → c'est difficile de comprendre comment ...
to find it difficult to do sth → avoir du mal à faire qch
it's difficult being ... → c'est difficile d'être ...
It is difficult being a parent → C'est difficile d'être parent.
it is difficult for sb to do sth → il est difficile pour qn de faire qch

(= awkward) [person] → difficile
to be difficult about sth → faire des difficultés au sujet de qch

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difficult

adj

(= hard) question, task, time → schwer, schwierig; situation, writer, book → schwierig; there’s nothing difficult about it → das ist doch gar nicht schwer; the difficult thing is that … → die Schwierigkeit liegt darin, dass …; it was a difficult decision to make → es war eine schwere or schwierige Entscheidung; it is not difficult to imagine → es ist nicht schwer, sich (dat) → das vorzustellen; it was difficult for him to leave her → es fiel ihm schwer, sie zu verlassen; it’s difficult for youngsters or youngsters find it difficult to get a job → junge Leute haben Schwierigkeiten, eine Stelle zu finden; it’s difficult to see what they could have done → es lässt sich schwer vorstellen, was sie hätten tun können; it’s difficult to deny that → es lässt sich kaum leugnen; he’s difficult to get on with → es ist schwer, mit ihm auszukommen; it’s difficult being a man today → es ist schwer, heute ein Mann zu sein; to make it difficult for somebody (to do something) → es jdm nicht leicht machen(, etw zu tun); to have a difficult time (doing something) → Schwierigkeiten haben(, etw zu tun); she’s having a difficult time now she’s on her own → jetzt, wo sie allein ist, hat sie es schwer; to put somebody in a difficult position → jdn in eine schwierige Lage bringen

(= awkward) person, child → schwierig; to be difficult (about something) → (wegen etw) Schwierigkeiten machen; he’s just trying to be difficult → er will nur Schwierigkeiten machen

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difficult [ˈdɪfɪk/əlt] adj → difficile
difficult to understand → difficile da capire
she is difficult to get on with → ha un carattere difficile
I find it difficult to believe (that ...) → mi pare difficile da credere (che...)
getting started is the difficult thing → il difficile sta nel cominciare

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difficult [ˈdɪfɪk/əlt] adj → difficile
difficult to understand → difficile da capire
she is difficult to get on with → ha un carattere difficile
I find it difficult to believe (that ...) → mi pare difficile da credere (che...)
getting started is the difficult thing → il difficile sta nel cominciare

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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 困难的

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 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 难弄的

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 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 困难

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 este difficulté בְּעַיָה दिक्कत prepreka, poteškoća akadály halangan erfiðleikar, vandamál difficoltà 障害 장애, 방해 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 艰难

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 ongelma embarras קְשָׁיִים कठिनाई financijske nevolje pénzügyi probléma kesulitan kröggur, fjárhagserfiðleikar difficoltà 窮乏 어려운 일 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 困境

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difficult → صَعْب obtížný svær schwierig δύσκολος difícil vaikea difficile težak difficile 困難な 어려운 moeilijk vanskelig trudny difícil сложный svår ยาก güç khó khăn 困难的