difficult
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.
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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”
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synonyms:
hard
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demanding
requiring more than usually expected or thought due; especially great patience and effort and skill
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ambitious, challenging
requiring full use of your abilities or resources
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arduous
difficult to accomplish; demanding considerable mental effort and skill
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awkward, embarrassing, sticky, unenviable
hard to deal with; especially causing pain or embarrassment
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baffling, elusive, knotty, problematic, problematical, tough
making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe
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catchy, tricky
having concealed difficulty
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delicate, ticklish, touchy
difficult to handle; requiring great tact
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fractious
unpredictably difficult in operation; likely to be troublesome
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hard-fought
requiring great effort
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herculean
extremely difficult; requiring the strength of a Hercules
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nasty, tight
exasperatingly difficult to handle or circumvent
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rocky, rough
full of hardship or trials
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rugged, tough
very difficult; severely testing stamina or resolution
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serious
requiring effort or concentration; complex and not easy to answer or solve
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tall
impressively difficult
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thorny
bristling with perplexities
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troublesome
difficult to deal with
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trying
hard to endure
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vexed
causing difficulty in finding an answer or solution; much disputed
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effortful
requiring great physical effort
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hard
dispassionate
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Antonyms:
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easy
posing no difficulty; requiring little effort
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undemanding
requiring little if any patience or effort or skill
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casual, effortless
not showing effort or strain
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clean
without difficulties or problems
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cushy, easygoing, soft
not burdensome or demanding; borne or done easily and without hardship
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elementary, simple, uncomplicated, unproblematic
easy and not involved or complicated
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hands-down
achieved without great effort
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painless
requiring little hard work or exertion
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simplified
made easy or uncomplicated
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smooth
lacking obstructions or difficulties
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user-friendly
easy to use
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effortless
requiring or apparently requiring no effort
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soft
compassionate and kind; conciliatory
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simple
having few parts; not complex or complicated or involved
- show more antonyms...
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demanding
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hard to control“"a difficult child", "an unmanageable situation”
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synonyms:
unmanageable
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defiant, noncompliant
boldly resisting authority or an opposing force
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indocile, uncontrollable, ungovernable, unruly
of persons
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uncheckable
incapable of being checked or restrained
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disobedient
not obeying or complying with commands of those in authority
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intractable
not tractable; difficult to manage or mold
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Antonyms:
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manageable
capable of being managed or controlled
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compliant
disposed or willing to comply
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administrable
capable of being administered or managed
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controllable, governable
capable of being controlled
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directed
manageable by a supervising agent
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dirigible, steerable
capable of being steered or directed
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obedient
dutifully complying with the commands or instructions of those in authority
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manipulable, tractable
easily managed (controlled or taught or molded)
- show more antonyms...
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defiant, noncompliant
/ˈdɪfəkəlt/
/ˈdɪfɪkəlt/
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Vocabulary lists containing difficult
For a better understanding of the words you learned on Rosetta Stone Foundations, simply start a practice session! You’ll learn additional meanings and different contexts that will help you become a stronger reader and writer.
With help from Roman demigods, Annabeth must use her wits to retrieve the stolen statue of Athena. Now test your wits against these words from Rick Riordan.
Learn these words from the online news article by Holly St. Lifer (Inside: Level B, Unit 6). Here are our links to the selections of "To the Rescue": Dogs at Work, How to Train a Guide Dog; The Wonder Dog, Angels in the Snow, Zlateh the Goat, The Story of Mzee and Owen, A Conflict Close to Home Here are our links to the units of Level B: Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3, Unit 4, Unit 5, Unit 6, Unit 7, Unit 8 Here are our links to the Inside books: Level A, Level B, Level C Here is our link to a list of academic vocabulary for Inside: Academic Vocabulary
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