- difficult
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I
adjective
arduous, attended by obstacles, awkward, beset with difficulty, beyond one's reach, bothersome, burdensome, complex, complicated, convoluted, difficile, difficilis, encompassed with difficulties, enigmatic, entangled by difficulties, fatiguing, grueling, hard, hard to deal with, hard to manage, hard to understand, impassable, impeditus, impenetrable, incomprehensible, insoluble, insurmountable, intractable, involved, labored, laborious, labyrinthine, obscure, obstinate, offering a problem, operose, out of reach, painstaking, perplexing, perverse, problematic, puzzling, recondite, refractory, strenuous, stubborn, surrounded by difficulties, too hard, troublesome, unachievable, unapproachable, unavailable, uncertain, unclear
associated concepts: difficult and extraordinary action, difficult and extraordinary case or proceeding
II
index
complex, elusive, formidable, fractious, froward, impracticable, insuperable, intricate, labyrinthine, lawless, obscure (abstruse), onerous, opaque, operose, oppressive, painful, perverse, petulant, problematic, querulous, recondite, restive, severe, uncompromising
Burton's Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006
Look at other dictionaries:
Difficult — Dif fi*cult, a. [From {Difficulty}.] 1. Hard to do or to make; beset with difficulty; attended with labor, trouble, or pains; not easy; arduous. [1913 Webster] Note: Difficult implies the notion that considerable mental effort or skill is… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
difficult — [adj1] hard on someone; hard to do ambitious, arduous, backbreaker*, bothersome, burdensome, challenging, crucial, demanding, difficile, easier said than done*, effortful, exacting, formidable, galling, Gargantuan*, hardwon, heavy, Herculean*,… … New thesaurus
Difficult — Dif fi*cult, v. t. To render difficult; to impede; to perplex. [R.] Sir W. Temple. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
difficult — c.1400, apparently a back formation from DIFFICULTY (Cf. difficulty). French has difficile, Latin difficilis. Of persons, hard to please, from 1580s … Etymology dictionary
difficult — *hard, arduous Analogous words: perplexing, puzzling, mystifying (see PUZZLE): intricate, involved, complicated, *complex, knotty: *obscure, enigmatic, cryptic: exacting, *onerous, burdensome Antonyms: simple Contrasted words: *easy, facile,… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
difficult — ► ADJECTIVE 1) needing much effort or skill to accomplish, deal with, or understand. 2) not easy to please or satisfy; awkward … English terms dictionary
difficult — [dif′i kult΄, dif′ikəlt] adj. [ME, back form. < DIFFICULTY] 1. hard to do, make, manage, understand, etc.; involving trouble or requiring extra effort, skill, or thought 2. hard to satisfy, persuade, please, etc. SYN. HARD difficultly adv … English World dictionary
difficult — dif|fi|cult W1S1 [ˈdıfıkəlt] adj [Date: 1300 1400; Origin: difficulty] 1.) hard to do, understand, or deal with ≠ ↑easy ▪ a difficult question ▪ an immensely difficult task ▪ Was the exam very difficult? ▪ It s difficult to see how more savings… … Dictionary of contemporary English
difficult — dif|fi|cult [ dıfıkəlt ] adjective *** 1. ) not easy to do, deal with, or understand: HARD: Choosing the winner was a difficult task. The exam questions were too difficult. difficult to do something: It s difficult to say what time I will get… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
difficult */*/*/ — UK [ˈdɪfɪk(ə)lt] / US [ˈdɪfɪkəlt] adjective 1) not easy to do, deal with, or understand Choosing the winner was a difficult task. The exam questions were too difficult. it is difficult to do something: It s difficult to say what time I will get… … English dictionary