difficult

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UK:^*^*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈdɪfɪkəlt/

US:USA pronunciation: IPAUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈdɪfɪˌkʌlt, -kəlt/

US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(dif′i kult′, -kəlt)

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dif•fi•cult adj.

requiring special effort, skill, or planning:a difficult job.[it + be + ~ + (for + object +) to + verb]It was difficult (for her) to get a good job.
hard to understand or solve:a difficult problem.
hard to deal with or get along with:a difficult pupil.
disadvantageous;
trying;
hampering:under difficult conditions.
full of hardship, esp. financial hardship:in these difficult times.

dif•fi•cult•ly, adv.

dif•fi•cult adj.

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, esp. financial hardship:We saw some difficult times during the depression years.

Middle English, back formation from difficulty 1350–1400

dif′fi•cult′ly, adv.

hard.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

difficult /ˈdɪfɪk^əlt/ adj

not easy to do; requiring effort
not easy to understand or solve; intricate
hard to deal with; troublesome: a difficult child
not easily convinced, pleased, or satisfied
full of hardships or trials

Etymology: 14th Century: back formation from difficultyˈdifficultly adv

'difficult' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

above - ambiguous - arduous - ask - awkward - barb - barnacle - bastard - beating - bind - bitch - bitter - bitter end - black spot - blind spot - bolshie - box spanner - Boyd - brain-teaser - bugger - burden - carry - chin - choosy - complex - complicated - confusing - constipation - contretemps - convoluted - corner - crackjaw - cramped - craw - creek - cumbersome - daylight - deep - devil - diabolic - dicey - difficulty - dodgy - dys- - dysmenorrhoea - dysprosium - ease - easy - elementary - abstract

In Lists: Top 2000 English words, PET Vocabulary List - D, Vocabulaire , more...

Synonyms: challenging, hard, tough, laborious, arduous, more...

Collocations: a difficult [exam, task, job], a difficult [situation, problem, issue, business], that's a very difficult [question, problem] to [answer, solve], more...

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "difficult" in the title:

... was a difficult task - formal?
...made more difficult by the news that...
"...one of the MORE difficult..."
..constricted making it difficult ..<making is an adjective?>
..is so difficult a problem that I can’t solve
..the percentages of flying with a real hard crew are very difficult.
'hard' or 'difficult'?
(Of a word or idea) difficult to retain, easily forgettable
[even] more difficult
[Grammar] The term itself is difficult to define
a bit difficult situation
A computer is <difficult> for my grandmother to use.
a difficult .........can be used
a difficult 12 months
a difficult book <to understand> <for understanding>
a difficult drug to come <off of>
a difficult goal to "track"
a difficult man to <find a flatmate for.>
a difficult pen
A difficult sentence...
A Difficult Structure
a difficult thing / a difficult thing to do
a difficult undertaking
A is difficult to V/It is difficult (for A) to V
a lecture about being difficult
a little too difficult a job or a little too difficult job?
a long, subtle, <and> difficult process
A Lot Of Difficult Expressions [Endgame - S. Beckett]
a problem <to which><where> finding an answer to is difficult.
a very difficult subject
more...

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