1
: hard to do, make, or carry out : arduous
2
a
: hard to deal with, manage, or overcome
having a difficult time coping with her death
b
: hard to understand : puzzling
found calculus too difficult
Synonyms
Choose the Right Synonym for difficult
difficult implies the presence of obstacles to be surmounted or puzzles to be resolved and suggests the need of skill or courage.
the difficult ascent of the mountain
arduous stresses the need of laborious and persevering exertion.
the arduous task of rebuilding
Example Sentences
We were asked lots of difficult questions.
I had to make a very difficult decision.
We’ll be hiking over difficult terrain.
It’s more difficult than it sounds.
I found myself in a difficult position.
Some difficult days lie ahead of us.
These changes will make life difficult for everyone involved.
See More
Recent Examples on the Web
There are numerous complex machines such as jet engines, steam turbines and many others that can be difficult to research and understand just by looking at sheets of paper.
—
Abhinand Chincholi, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2023
The credits would also be capped to the amount of capital expenditures made by oil producers, which has a difficult-to-determine revenue impact.
—Sean Maguire, Anchorage Daily News, 26 Mar. 2023
Our thoughts are with Vaughn’s wife, Lisa, and his kids Victoria, Cameron, and Vaughn Henry in this extraordinarily difficult time.
—Nbc Universal, NBC News, 26 Mar. 2023
For other clubs, the world Cohen has created, or at least accelerated, can be difficult to explain to fans, who wonder why their rich-but-not-Cohen-rich owners cannot afford better players.
—Kate Kelly, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2023
Finding examples of extremism, a lust for authoritarian leaders, and general antidemocratic beliefs in America is not difficult these days—just spend a few minutes online.
—WIRED, 26 Mar. 2023
On one often-difficult subject, immigration, Biden and Trudeau used the visit to announce an agreement aiming to stem the flow of asylum seekers at unofficial border crossings from the U.S. to Canada.
—Josh Boak And Rob Gillies, ajc, 25 Mar. 2023
Controlling Callery pears is difficult because their sturdy, extensive root system makes the trees almost impossible to kill with herbicides.
—Maeghan Dolph, Fox News, 25 Mar. 2023
Finding a backpack tote that can pass the test in a professional setting can be difficult, but the Cole Haan Grand Ambition Convertible Backpack gets the job done.
—Katherine Alex Beaven, Travel + Leisure, 24 Mar. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘difficult.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, probably back-formation from difficulte difficulty
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of difficult was
in the 14th century
Dictionary Entries Near difficult
Cite this Entry
“Difficult.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/difficult. Accessed 14 Apr. 2023.
Share
More from Merriam-Webster on difficult
Last Updated:
30 Mar 2023
— Updated example sentences
Subscribe to America’s largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!
Merriam-Webster unabridged
- Top Definitions
- Synonyms
- Quiz
- Related Content
- Examples
- British
This shows grade level based on the word’s complexity.
[ dif-i-kuhlt, -kuhlt ]
/ ˈdɪf ɪˌkʌlt, -kəlt /
This shows grade level based on the word’s complexity.
adjective
not easily or readily done; requiring much labor, skill, or planning to be performed successfully; hard: a difficult job.
hard to understand or solve: a difficult problem.
hard to deal with or get on with: a difficult pupil.
hard to please or satisfy: a difficult employer.
hard to persuade or induce; stubborn: a difficult old man.
disadvantageous; trying; hampering: The operation was performed under the most difficult conditions.
fraught with hardship, especially financial hardship: We saw some difficult times during the depression years.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Which sentence is correct?
Origin of difficult
1350–1400; Middle English, back formation from difficulty
synonym study for difficult
OTHER WORDS FROM difficult
dif·fi·cult·ly, adverbnon·dif·fi·cult, adjectivequa·si-dif·fi·cult, adjectivequa·si-dif·fi·cult·ly, adverb
su·per·dif·fi·cult, adjectivesu·per·dif·fi·cult·ly, adverbun·dif·fi·cult, adjectiveun·dif·fi·cult·ly, adverb
Words nearby difficult
differentiation, differentiator, differently, different strokes for different folks, difficile, difficult, difficulty, diffidence, diffident, diffidently, diffluence
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Words related to difficult
ambitious, arduous, burdensome, challenging, crucial, demanding, laborious, onerous, painful, problematic, severe, strenuous, tough, troublesome, complex, confusing, delicate, grim, intractable, backbreaker
How to use difficult in a sentence
-
These are difficult conversations that aren’t going to go away whether or not we play the national anthem.
-
It’s really difficult to do a cost-benefit analysis when you can’t quantify the benefits, which is the case with rotational-energy protection systems.
-
That would make it much more difficult to operate a site like Yelp, which relies on having negative user content that people that it’s about would want taken down.
-
Under normal circumstances, with a defeated incumbent president, it is difficult for a party to change.
-
The Washington Football Team is also in need of a quarterback, but it’s difficult to imagine an intra-divisional trade.
-
The choice between freedom and fear is not difficult when seen with perspective.
-
Although Huckabee’s condescending tone — like that of an elementary school history teacher — makes it difficult to take seriously.
-
That makes it incredibly difficult to determine the effects of airstrikes, for example.
-
Being the first to declare feelings is incredibly difficult.
-
White rappers are always difficult to comprehend, difficult to deal with.
-
In the early stages of chronic nephritis, when diagnosis is difficult, it is usually normal.
-
It was difficult, with the mean appliances of the time, to wring subsistence from the reluctant earth.
-
It was difficult to describe—a little sterner, a little wilder, a faint emphasis of the barbaric peering through it.
-
Ajoutez cecy, s’il vous plaist, la grande difficult qu’il y a de tirer d’eux les mots mesmes qu’ils ont.
-
Numbers have dribbled back from firing line and cannot be collected in this difficult country.
British Dictionary definitions for difficult
adjective
not easy to do; requiring efforta difficult job
not easy to understand or solve; intricatea difficult problem
hard to deal with; troublesomea difficult child
not easily convinced, pleased, or satisfieda difficult audience
full of hardships or trialsdifficult times ahead
Derived forms of difficult
difficultly, adverb
Word Origin for difficult
C14: back formation from difficulty
Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other forms: difficultly
If something is difficult, it requires physical effort or brain power to complete, like climbing Mount Everest, a difficult journey.
Difficult has Latin parts: dis meaning «not, un» and facilis meaning «easy.» So, something that is difficult is not easy, like marathon running. Difficult can also be used to describe a situation or person that is hard to control. For example, if you babysit a difficult child, he or she might run away from you and not obey you. And you might have a difficult time agreeing to watch that child again.
Definitions of difficult
-
adjective
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”
-
synonyms:
hard
-
demanding
requiring more than usually expected or thought due; especially great patience and effort and skill
-
ambitious, challenging
requiring full use of your abilities or resources
-
arduous
difficult to accomplish; demanding considerable mental effort and skill
-
awkward, embarrassing, sticky, unenviable
hard to deal with; especially causing pain or embarrassment
-
baffling, elusive, knotty, problematic, problematical, tough
making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe
-
catchy, tricky
having concealed difficulty
-
delicate, ticklish, touchy
difficult to handle; requiring great tact
-
fractious
unpredictably difficult in operation; likely to be troublesome
-
hard-fought
requiring great effort
-
herculean
extremely difficult; requiring the strength of a Hercules
-
nasty, tight
exasperatingly difficult to handle or circumvent
-
rocky, rough
full of hardship or trials
-
rugged, tough
very difficult; severely testing stamina or resolution
-
serious
requiring effort or concentration; complex and not easy to answer or solve
-
tall
impressively difficult
-
thorny
bristling with perplexities
-
troublesome
difficult to deal with
-
trying
hard to endure
-
vexed
causing difficulty in finding an answer or solution; much disputed
-
effortful
requiring great physical effort
-
hard
dispassionate
-
demanding
-
adjective
hard to control
“»a
difficult child», «an unmanageable situation”-
synonyms:
unmanageable
-
defiant, noncompliant
boldly resisting authority or an opposing force
-
indocile, uncontrollable, ungovernable, unruly
of persons
-
uncheckable
incapable of being checked or restrained
-
disobedient
not obeying or complying with commands of those in authority
-
intractable
not tractable; difficult to manage or mold
-
defiant, noncompliant
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘difficult’.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
Send us feedback
EDITOR’S CHOICE
Look up difficult for the last time
Close your vocabulary gaps with personalized learning that focuses on teaching the
words you need to know.
Sign up now (it’s free!)
Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.
Get started
- Afrikaans: moeilik
- Albanian: i vështirë (sq)
- Amharic: አስቸጋሪ (ʾäsčägari)
- Arabic: صَعْب (ṣaʕb)
- Moroccan Arabic: واعر (waʿr)
- Armenian: դժվար (hy) (džvar), բարդ (hy) (bard), ծանր (hy) (canr)
- Assamese: টান (tan)
- Asturian: difícil (ast)
- Azerbaijani: çətin (az), düşvar
- Bashkir: ҡыйын (qıyın), ауыр (awır)
- Basque: nekez (eu)
- Belarusian: ця́жкі (be) (cjážki), тру́дны (trúdny)
- Bengali: কঠিন (bn) (koṭhin)
- Bikol Central:
- Bikol Legazpi: dipisil (bcl)
- Bikol Naga: masakit
- Breton: diaes (br)
- Brunei Malay: payah
- Bulgarian: тру́ден (bg) (trúden), мъ́чен (bg) (mǎ́čen), те́жък (bg) (téžǎk)
- Burmese: ခဲယဉ်း (my) (hkai:yany:), ခက် (my) (hkak)
- Catalan: difícil (ca)
- Cebuano: lisud
- Chamicuro: yeewa
- Chechen: хала (xala)
- Cherokee: ᎤᏦᏍᏗ (utsosdi), ᏍᏓᏯ (sdaya)
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: 難／难 (naan4), 困難／困难 (kwan3 naan4)
- Mandarin: 難／难 (zh) (nán), 困難／困难 (zh) (kùnnán), 艱難／艰难 (zh) (jiānnán)
- Wu: 難／难 (ne̞²³)
- Chukchi: аӈъачеты (aṇʺačety)
- Crimean Tatar: qıyın
- Czech: obtížný (cs), těžký (cs)
- Danish: vanskelig
- Dhivehi: please add this translation if you can
- Dutch: lastig (nl), moeilijk (nl)
- Egyptian: (qsn)
- Esperanto: malfacila
- Estonian: keeruline (et)
- Faroese: torførur
- Finnish: vaikea (fi), hankala (fi)
- French: difficile (fr)
- Galician: difícil (gl)
- Georgian: ძნელი (ʒneli), რთული (rtuli), მძიმე (ka) (mʒime)
- German: schwer (de), schwierig (de)
- Gothic: 𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌿𐍃 (aglus)
- Greek: δύσκολος (el) (dýskolos)
- Ancient: χαλεπός (khalepós), δυσχερής (duskherḗs)
- Greenlandic: sapernarpoq
- Gujarati: કઠિન (kaṭhin)
- Haitian Creole: difisil
- Hebrew: קָשֶׁה (he) (kashé), מסובך (mesubbakh)
- Hindi: कठिन (hi) (kaṭhin), विकट (hi) (vikaṭ), मुश्किल (hi) (muśkil), दुश्वार (hi) (duśvār)
- Hungarian: nehéz (hu)
- Icelandic: erfiður (is)
- Ido: desfacila (io)
- Ilocano: narigat
- Indonesian: sukar (id), susah (id), sulit (id)
- Ingush: хала (xala)
- Interlingua: difficile
- Irish: deacair, anfhurasta, anacair, achrannach (of terrain), doiligh
- Italian: difficile (it)
- Japanese: 難しい (ja) (むずかしい, muzukashii), 困難な (ja) (こんなんな, konnan na)
- Kabuverdianu: puxadu, pexóde, rabés
- Kannada: ಕಟ್ (kn) (kaṭ)
- Kazakh: қиын (kk) (qiyn), ауыр (kk) (auyr)
- Khmer: ពិបាក (km) (pi’baak), យ៉ាប់ (km) (yap)
- Korean: 어렵다 (ko) (eoryeopda), 힘들다 (ko) (himdeulda)
- Kurdish:
- Central Kurdish: زەحمەت (ckb) (zeḧmet), گران (ckb) (gran), سەخت (ckb) (sext)
- Kyrgyz: кыйын (ky) (kıyın), оор (ky) (oor)
- Ladino: difísil, zor
- Lao: ຍາກ (nyāk)
- Latin: difficilis (la)
- Latvian: sarežģīts, grūts
- Lithuanian: sunkus (lt)
- Macedonian: тежок (težok), мачен (mačen)
- Malay: sukar (ms), susah (ms)
- Maltese: diffiċli (mt)
- Manx: doillee, creoi, trome, mooar, neuaashagh
- Maori: whēuaua, uaua, taumaha hārukiruki (in the extreme)
- Marathi: अवघड (mr) (avghaḍ), कठीण (mr) (kaṭhīṇ)
- Mirandese: defícel
- Mon: ဝါတ် (wāt)
- Mongolian: хэцүү (mn) (xecüü), хүнд (mn) (xünd), бэрх (mn) (berx), хүчир (mn) (xüčir)
- Navajo: nantłʼah
- Norwegian: vanskelig (no)
- Occitan: malaisit (oc), dificil (oc) m
- Old Church Slavonic:
- Cyrillic: тѩжькъ (tjęžĭkŭ)
- Old English: earfoþe
- Oriya: please add this translation if you can
- Pashto: ګران m (grân), مشکل m (muškil)
- Persian: دشوار (fa) (došvâr), مشکل (fa) (moškel), سخت (fa) (saxt), صعب (fa) (sa’b)
- Polish: trudny (pl), ciężki (pl)
- Portuguese: difícil (pt)
- Punjabi: ਕਠਿਨ (kaṭhin)
- Quechua: sasa
- Romanian: greu (ro), dificil (ro), anevoios (ro), complicat (ro)
- Russian: тру́дный (ru) m (trúdnyj), тяжёлый (ru) (tjažólyj), тя́жкий (ru) (tjážkij), сло́жный (ru) (slóžnyj)
- Samoan: faigatā
- Sanskrit: कठिन (sa) (kaṭhina)
- Scottish Gaelic: doirbh, mì-fhurasda, cruaidh, trom, duilich
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: тежак
- Roman: težak (sh)
- Sinhalese: අමාරු (amāru)
- Slovak: obtiažny, ťažký
- Slovene: težek (sl)
- Sorbian:
- Upper Sorbian: ćežki
- Spanish: difícil (es)
- Swedish: svår (sv)
- Tagalog: mahirap
- Tajik: мушкил (tg) (muškil), душвор (dušvor), сахт (tg) (saxt)
- Tamil: கடினமான (ta) (kaṭiṉamāṉa)
- Tatar: кыен (qıyen), авыр (tt) (awır)
- Telugu: కఠినమైన (te) (kaṭhinamaina), కష్టమైన (te) (kaṣṭamaina)
- Tetum: susar
- Thai: ยาก (th) (yâak), ลำบาก (th) (lam-bàak)
- Tibetan: ཁག་པོ (khag po), དཀའ་ལས་ཁག་པོ (dka’ las khag po), དཀའ་མོ (dka’ mo), དཀའ་ངལ་ཅན (dka’ ngal can)
- Tocharian B: waimene, āmāskai
- Tongan: faingataʻa
- Turkish: zor (tr), güç (tr), müşkül (tr), çetin (tr), kıyın (tr), düşvar, ağır (tr)
- Turkmen: çatak, çetin, kyn, müçgil
- Ukrainian: важки́й (uk) (važkýj), трудни́й (trudnýj)
- Urdu: مشکل (muśkil), دشوار (duśvār), کٹھن (kaṭhin)
- Uyghur: قىيىن (qiyin), مۈشكۈل (müshkül)
- Uzbek: qiyin (uz), mushkul (uz), murakkab (uz)
- Vietnamese: khó (vi), khó khăn (vi)
- Volapük: fikulik (vo)
- Walloon: please add this translation if you can
- Welsh: anodd (cy), caled (cy)
- West Frisian: swier (fy)
- White Hmong: please add this translation if you can
- Yiddish: שווער (shver), האַרב (harb)
- Yoruba: le
- Zhuang: please add this translation if you can
It is of course extremely difficult to collect satisfactory data on such a point, difficult to reach the men, to get trustworthy testimony, and to gauge that testimony by any generally acceptable criterion of success. ❋ William Edward Burghardt (1903)
The uncertain light made her expression difficult to read, but Odosse thought she saw pain there—a great deal more pain than belonged in such a young face. ❋ Liane Merciel (2010)
KING: Jeanette, what does the term difficult mean to you? ❋ Unknown (2008)
How freakin difficult is it to drop some food and water in there? ❋ Unknown (2005)
Felipe Massa did his best to make Hamilton’s clinching of the title difficult as he took pole today for the Brazilian GP. ❋ Unknown (2009)
Throughout the questioning, Mr. Moreno, 43, adhered to his testimony, expressing shock that the woman had leveled charges of rape against him despite his best efforts to be supportive during what he described as a «difficult» time for her. ❋ Tamer El-Ghobashy (2011)
Among other stocks, Anglo-Dutch consumer-products group Unilever gained 2.7% in London, after reporting a 10% increase in first-half profit despite what it termed «difficult markets.» ❋ Barbara Kollmeyer (2011)
BLITZER: Right now, President Obama’s clearly rethinking his response to what he calls a difficult chapter in America’s history. ❋ Unknown (2009)
He clearly is now rethinking his response to what he calls a difficult chapter in America’s history. ❋ Unknown (2009)
David Paterson and his wife faced reporters today in Albany, revealing they both had affairs during what they call a difficult period a few years back. ❋ Unknown (2008)
While admitting that there are still what he called difficult times in Iraq, the president said there are quote, signs that give us hope. ❋ Unknown (2007)
He takes stock of what he calls a difficult year in Iraq and says he’s open to ideas on how to move forward. ❋ Unknown (2006)
MATTINGLY: Patti Davis, the first child of Ronald and Nancy Reagan, occasionally starred in TV commercials with her dad but later she wrote a book about what she called a difficult childhood. ❋ Unknown (2004)
War is never an easy or what I call difficult-free operation and there are always surprises. ❋ Unknown (2003)
It also pointed out what it described as the difficult working conditions of warders. ❋ Unknown (2002)
The Democratic Party on Monday congratulated South African teachers for what they managed to achieve under what it called difficult circumstances. ❋ Unknown (1998)
The barbarians were not «Germans» (a term difficult to define), they were of very mixed stocks which, if we go by speech (a bad guide to race) were some of them Germanic, some Slav, some even Mongol, some Berber, some of the old unnamed races: the Picts, for instance, and the dark men of the extreme North and West. ❋ Hilaire Belloc (1911)
The jailer couldn’t keep me under discipline; I was what they call a difficult prisoner. ❋ Martin Andersen Nex�� (1911)
[I don’t know] why [Lisa] is [being difficult] all she have to do is listen. ❋ Gerard Irick (2009)
[Quantum Physics] is difficult. ❋ Dano Magnum (2006)
[Kristen] said that she liked him, that she did not think he was difficult. He «would ask you to do things that, like, you might not think were safe…I have a way of dealing with that…I’d be like listen dude, you really want [the sex]? [You know what I mean].» ❋ Vince Clortho (2008)
That would [difficultate] the process. [difficult] [difficulty] ❋ Cccpeople (2016)
When I found myself in a whore house with no [rubbers] i realized i was in a difficultation.
I realized I was in a difficultation when I found only $9 in my [wallet] and a [lap dance] costs $10. ❋ The Original Bigworm (2008)
«That [claims] [process] was [difficult difficult lemon difficult]» ❋ Therane08 (2017)
«[What do] you [train] for?
«For the difficult» ❋ Lucisama (2022)
[Old School] [Runescape] is more difficult than Runescape 3 because you [afk] for longer. ❋ Deepsking (2018)
He noticed that his female [colleague] didn’t live to please others. Instead of labelling her a ‘[difficult woman]’, he [respected] her ability to say no. ❋ Sexism Education (2022)
Because I make [her’s] life so [difficult] I [done] difficultized her life ❋ Redbranch98 (2008)