Definition of difficult in English:

difficult

adjective ˈdɪfɪk(ə)ltˈdɪfəkəlt

1Needing much effort or skill to accomplish, deal with, or understand.
she had a difficult decision to make
the questions are too difficult for the children
Example sentencesExamples
- It can also be difficult for them to speak to friends about the emotions they are experiencing.
- But with the boundaries as they are it is going to be very difficult for anyone to win.
- It was difficult for his cowered staff to stand up to this overbearing behaviour.
- Another makes it very difficult for a woman to keep her children if she remarries after a divorce.
- As a woman on the stairs said, it must make it doubly difficult for the conductor.
- It said passive smoking not only killed but also made it more difficult for smokers to quit.
- It is very difficult for me to disagree with the statement that they deplore it.
- There was a spell when it was difficult for me to choose between certain players.
- It is as difficult for the very civilized man to understand its charm as it is to deny its existence.
- These structures made it difficult for investors and advisers to pick the best deal.
- He added he feared it might prove difficult for the staff losing their jobs to find new work in this area.
- We all acknowledged the fact that this decision is very difficult for you to understand.
- Why is it so difficult for the present crew to understand where the horse goes in relation to the cart?
- He is better than he was, but it was difficult for him to even make it here, and he only lives a couple of miles away.
- The behaviour of children with autism can be difficult for other people to understand.
- Without such a basis, it will be difficult for either party to gain much from a consultation.
- It is as difficult for us to understand adolescents as it is for them to understand us.
- The game is so quick that it is very difficult for them to see everything and to get every decision right.
- It was not difficult for me to step up, but I had to show a lot more concentration.
- That might be difficult for those schools which only allocate an hour for the subject.
Synonyms
hard, strenuous, arduous, laborious, heavy, tough, onerous, burdensome, demanding, punishing, gruelling, grinding, back-breaking, painful
exhausting, tiring, fatiguing, wearing, wearying, wearisome
informal hellish, killing
British informal knackering
archaic toilsome
rare exigent
problematic, hard, puzzling, baffling, perplexing, confusing, mystifying, mysterious
complicated, complex, involved, intricate, knotty, thorny, ticklish
obscure, abstract, abstruse, recondite, enigmatic, impenetrable, unfathomable, over one's head, above one's head, beyond one
informal fiddly, sticky, no picnic
North American informal gnarly
archaic wildering
rare involute, involuted
1. 1.1 Characterized by or causing hardships or problems.
  a difficult economic climate
  Example sentencesExamples
  I was also a union steward at that time involved in long and difficult negotiations.
  Apparently, her puss Fang soon tires of any particular flavor and makes life difficult at meal times.
  The snow and ice which had made life difficult for the past eight weeks was finally on the retreat.
  The past two years have been a particularly difficult time for the people working there.
  The family are finding it a bit difficult at the moment as you can imagine.
  It makes life so difficult for disabled people, it's just not right.
  Doctors are a dedicated lot, mostly doing a superb job under difficult circumstances.
  The State of Oregon is looking hard to save where it can in this difficult business climate.
  The whole situation is made more difficult by the complexity of the cost equations.
  The bereaved should not have to be faced with such problems at what is already a very difficult time.
  Doesn't the fact that his father died in an automobile accident make it difficult for him?
  But my being away does make things difficult for the family because I work for my father.
  Your uncompromising honesty and painfully truthful criticisms can make life difficult at times.
  It is tempting to pretend that the last few days have been dark and difficult for Britain.
  Disabled shoppers claim a new supermarket car park is making life difficult for them.
  I know this has been a very difficult and stressful time for the family and for staff involved.
  Synonyms
  inconvenient, awkward, unfavourable, unfortunate, inappropriate, unsuitable, untimely, ill-timed, inopportune, inexpedient, disadvantageous
  archaic unseasonable
  bad, tough, grim, terrible, awful, dreadful, nightmarish, dark, black, hard, adverse, unpleasant, unwelcome, disagreeable, distressing, harrowing
  straitened, hard-pressed
  literary direful
  archaic or humorous parlous
2. 1.2 (of a person) not easy to please or satisfy; awkward.
  Lily could be difficult
  Example sentencesExamples
  We all know she is a difficult woman, but not that difficult.
  He is a difficult person but he has never tried to influence me.
  He was apparently a difficult man to deal with but always Burnley through and through.
  It's quite a hard thing to say, but my Nan is a very difficult person for me to be around.
  My character in the film had a very difficult father and there was one scene in which she had to stand up to him.
  I'm not saying my brother is a difficult person but he does have trouble committing to family events.
  He has succeeded in showing us that he is a difficult man, but that needed no great mastery.
  Synonyms
  troublesome, tiresome, trying, exasperating, demanding, unmanageable, intractable, perverse, contrary, recalcitrant, obstreperous, refractory, fractious
  unaccommodating, unhelpful, uncooperative, unamenable, unreasonable, disobliging, stubborn, obstinate, bull-headed, pig-headed
  hard to please, hard to satisfy, fussy, particular, over-particular, fastidious, perfectionist, critical, hypercritical, finicky
  British awkward
  Scottish thrawn
  informal cussed
  choosy, picky
  British informal bloody-minded, bolshie, stroppy
  North American informal balky
  archaic contumacious, froward
  rare contrarious, finical

Derivatives

difficultly

adverb ˈdɪfɪk(ə)ltliˈdɪfəkəltli

rare

In a way that is complicated or requires great effort.
this clay is not cutting into smooth, even masses, but breaking difficultly and irregularly
Example sentencesExamples
- It goes on, more difficultly still, in the attenuated sublimity of a democratic faith, that the after is not the end.
- He added that the Government neglects the municipalities and works with them extremely slowly and difficultly.
- The full complement of four cellos, double bass, percussion, three sopranos and the piano duo even hinted at one of those discarded early versions of Stravinsky's difficultly achieved masterpiece.

difficultness

noun

High activity and low sociability are less accepted in girls than in boys, and this may explain why temperamental difficultness predicted low self-esteem among girls only.
Example sentencesExamples
- They pride themselves on their difficultness.
- This constellation of dimensions has been referred to as perceived child difficultness or perceived difficult temperament.
- The child temperament variable of difficultness was related only to MC.
- Among girls, maternal hostile child-rearing attitudes, role dissatisfaction, and perceived temperamental difficultness of the child were all significant predictors of self-esteem in adolescence.

Origin

Late Middle English: back-formation from difficulty.

Definition of difficult in US English:

difficult

adjectiveˈdɪfəkəltˈdifəkəlt

1Needing much effort or skill to accomplish, deal with, or understand.
she had a difficult decision to make
the questions are too difficult for the children
Example sentencesExamples
- These structures made it difficult for investors and advisers to pick the best deal.
- It said passive smoking not only killed but also made it more difficult for smokers to quit.
- Another makes it very difficult for a woman to keep her children if she remarries after a divorce.
- But with the boundaries as they are it is going to be very difficult for anyone to win.
- That might be difficult for those schools which only allocate an hour for the subject.
- Without such a basis, it will be difficult for either party to gain much from a consultation.
- It was not difficult for me to step up, but I had to show a lot more concentration.
- It is as difficult for the very civilized man to understand its charm as it is to deny its existence.
- The behaviour of children with autism can be difficult for other people to understand.
- As a woman on the stairs said, it must make it doubly difficult for the conductor.
- Why is it so difficult for the present crew to understand where the horse goes in relation to the cart?
- He added he feared it might prove difficult for the staff losing their jobs to find new work in this area.
- We all acknowledged the fact that this decision is very difficult for you to understand.
- It was difficult for his cowered staff to stand up to this overbearing behaviour.
- He is better than he was, but it was difficult for him to even make it here, and he only lives a couple of miles away.
- It is very difficult for me to disagree with the statement that they deplore it.
- It is as difficult for us to understand adolescents as it is for them to understand us.
- The game is so quick that it is very difficult for them to see everything and to get every decision right.
- There was a spell when it was difficult for me to choose between certain players.
- It can also be difficult for them to speak to friends about the emotions they are experiencing.
Synonyms
hard, strenuous, arduous, laborious, heavy, tough, onerous, burdensome, demanding, punishing, gruelling, grinding, back-breaking, painful
problematic, hard, puzzling, baffling, perplexing, confusing, mystifying, mysterious
1. 1.1 Characterized by or causing hardships or problems.
  a difficult economic climate
  Example sentencesExamples
  It is tempting to pretend that the last few days have been dark and difficult for Britain.
  It makes life so difficult for disabled people, it's just not right.
  Your uncompromising honesty and painfully truthful criticisms can make life difficult at times.
  The past two years have been a particularly difficult time for the people working there.
  I know this has been a very difficult and stressful time for the family and for staff involved.
  Disabled shoppers claim a new supermarket car park is making life difficult for them.
  The family are finding it a bit difficult at the moment as you can imagine.
  But my being away does make things difficult for the family because I work for my father.
  The snow and ice which had made life difficult for the past eight weeks was finally on the retreat.
  The bereaved should not have to be faced with such problems at what is already a very difficult time.
  Doctors are a dedicated lot, mostly doing a superb job under difficult circumstances.
  Apparently, her puss Fang soon tires of any particular flavor and makes life difficult at meal times.
  The whole situation is made more difficult by the complexity of the cost equations.
  Doesn't the fact that his father died in an automobile accident make it difficult for him?
  The State of Oregon is looking hard to save where it can in this difficult business climate.
  I was also a union steward at that time involved in long and difficult negotiations.
  Synonyms
  inconvenient, awkward, unfavourable, unfortunate, inappropriate, unsuitable, untimely, ill-timed, inopportune, inexpedient, disadvantageous
  bad, tough, grim, terrible, awful, dreadful, nightmarish, dark, black, hard, adverse, unpleasant, unwelcome, disagreeable, distressing, harrowing
2. 1.2 (of a person) not easy to please or satisfy.
  Lily could be difficult
  Example sentencesExamples
  I'm not saying my brother is a difficult person but he does have trouble committing to family events.
  He is a difficult person but he has never tried to influence me.
  We all know she is a difficult woman, but not that difficult.
  He was apparently a difficult man to deal with but always Burnley through and through.
  It's quite a hard thing to say, but my Nan is a very difficult person for me to be around.
  He has succeeded in showing us that he is a difficult man, but that needed no great mastery.
  My character in the film had a very difficult father and there was one scene in which she had to stand up to him.
  Synonyms
  troublesome, tiresome, trying, exasperating, demanding, unmanageable, intractable, perverse, contrary, recalcitrant, obstreperous, refractory, fractious

Origin

Late Middle English: back-formation from difficulty.

单词	difficult
释义	Definition of difficult in English: difficult adjective ˈdɪfɪk(ə)ltˈdɪfəkəlt 1Needing much effort or skill to accomplish, deal with, or understand. she had a difficult decision to make the questions are too difficult for the children Example sentencesExamples It can also be difficult for them to speak to friends about the emotions they are experiencing. But with the boundaries as they are it is going to be very difficult for anyone to win. It was difficult for his cowered staff to stand up to this overbearing behaviour. Another makes it very difficult for a woman to keep her children if she remarries after a divorce. As a woman on the stairs said, it must make it doubly difficult for the conductor. It said passive smoking not only killed but also made it more difficult for smokers to quit. It is very difficult for me to disagree with the statement that they deplore it. There was a spell when it was difficult for me to choose between certain players. It is as difficult for the very civilized man to understand its charm as it is to deny its existence. These structures made it difficult for investors and advisers to pick the best deal. He added he feared it might prove difficult for the staff losing their jobs to find new work in this area. We all acknowledged the fact that this decision is very difficult for you to understand. Why is it so difficult for the present crew to understand where the horse goes in relation to the cart? He is better than he was, but it was difficult for him to even make it here, and he only lives a couple of miles away. The behaviour of children with autism can be difficult for other people to understand. Without such a basis, it will be difficult for either party to gain much from a consultation. It is as difficult for us to understand adolescents as it is for them to understand us. The game is so quick that it is very difficult for them to see everything and to get every decision right. It was not difficult for me to step up, but I had to show a lot more concentration. That might be difficult for those schools which only allocate an hour for the subject. Synonyms hard, strenuous, arduous, laborious, heavy, tough, onerous, burdensome, demanding, punishing, gruelling, grinding, back-breaking, painful exhausting, tiring, fatiguing, wearing, wearying, wearisome informal hellish, killing British informal knackering archaic toilsome rare exigent problematic, hard, puzzling, baffling, perplexing, confusing, mystifying, mysterious complicated, complex, involved, intricate, knotty, thorny, ticklish obscure, abstract, abstruse, recondite, enigmatic, impenetrable, unfathomable, over one's head, above one's head, beyond one informal fiddly, sticky, no picnic North American informal gnarly archaic wildering rare involute, involuted 1.1 Characterized by or causing hardships or problems. a difficult economic climate Example sentencesExamples I was also a union steward at that time involved in long and difficult negotiations. Apparently, her puss Fang soon tires of any particular flavor and makes life difficult at meal times. The snow and ice which had made life difficult for the past eight weeks was finally on the retreat. The past two years have been a particularly difficult time for the people working there. The family are finding it a bit difficult at the moment as you can imagine. It makes life so difficult for disabled people, it's just not right. Doctors are a dedicated lot, mostly doing a superb job under difficult circumstances. The State of Oregon is looking hard to save where it can in this difficult business climate. The whole situation is made more difficult by the complexity of the cost equations. The bereaved should not have to be faced with such problems at what is already a very difficult time. Doesn't the fact that his father died in an automobile accident make it difficult for him? But my being away does make things difficult for the family because I work for my father. Your uncompromising honesty and painfully truthful criticisms can make life difficult at times. It is tempting to pretend that the last few days have been dark and difficult for Britain. Disabled shoppers claim a new supermarket car park is making life difficult for them. I know this has been a very difficult and stressful time for the family and for staff involved. Synonyms inconvenient, awkward, unfavourable, unfortunate, inappropriate, unsuitable, untimely, ill-timed, inopportune, inexpedient, disadvantageous archaic unseasonable bad, tough, grim, terrible, awful, dreadful, nightmarish, dark, black, hard, adverse, unpleasant, unwelcome, disagreeable, distressing, harrowing straitened, hard-pressed literary direful archaic or humorous parlous 1.2 (of a person) not easy to please or satisfy; awkward. Lily could be difficult Example sentencesExamples We all know she is a difficult woman, but not that difficult. He is a difficult person but he has never tried to influence me. He was apparently a difficult man to deal with but always Burnley through and through. It's quite a hard thing to say, but my Nan is a very difficult person for me to be around. My character in the film had a very difficult father and there was one scene in which she had to stand up to him. I'm not saying my brother is a difficult person but he does have trouble committing to family events. He has succeeded in showing us that he is a difficult man, but that needed no great mastery. Synonyms troublesome, tiresome, trying, exasperating, demanding, unmanageable, intractable, perverse, contrary, recalcitrant, obstreperous, refractory, fractious unaccommodating, unhelpful, uncooperative, unamenable, unreasonable, disobliging, stubborn, obstinate, bull-headed, pig-headed hard to please, hard to satisfy, fussy, particular, over-particular, fastidious, perfectionist, critical, hypercritical, finicky British awkward Scottish thrawn informal cussed choosy, picky British informal bloody-minded, bolshie, stroppy North American informal balky archaic contumacious, froward rare contrarious, finical Derivatives difficultly adverb ˈdɪfɪk(ə)ltliˈdɪfəkəltli rare In a way that is complicated or requires great effort. this clay is not cutting into smooth, even masses, but breaking difficultly and irregularly Example sentencesExamples It goes on, more difficultly still, in the attenuated sublimity of a democratic faith, that the after is not the end. He added that the Government neglects the municipalities and works with them extremely slowly and difficultly. The full complement of four cellos, double bass, percussion, three sopranos and the piano duo even hinted at one of those discarded early versions of Stravinsky's difficultly achieved masterpiece. difficultness noun High activity and low sociability are less accepted in girls than in boys, and this may explain why temperamental difficultness predicted low self-esteem among girls only. Example sentencesExamples They pride themselves on their difficultness. This constellation of dimensions has been referred to as perceived child difficultness or perceived difficult temperament. The child temperament variable of difficultness was related only to MC. Among girls, maternal hostile child-rearing attitudes, role dissatisfaction, and perceived temperamental difficultness of the child were all significant predictors of self-esteem in adolescence. Origin Late Middle English: back-formation from difficulty. Definition of difficult in US English: difficult adjectiveˈdɪfəkəltˈdifəkəlt 1Needing much effort or skill to accomplish, deal with, or understand. she had a difficult decision to make the questions are too difficult for the children Example sentencesExamples These structures made it difficult for investors and advisers to pick the best deal. It said passive smoking not only killed but also made it more difficult for smokers to quit. Another makes it very difficult for a woman to keep her children if she remarries after a divorce. But with the boundaries as they are it is going to be very difficult for anyone to win. That might be difficult for those schools which only allocate an hour for the subject. Without such a basis, it will be difficult for either party to gain much from a consultation. It was not difficult for me to step up, but I had to show a lot more concentration. It is as difficult for the very civilized man to understand its charm as it is to deny its existence. The behaviour of children with autism can be difficult for other people to understand. As a woman on the stairs said, it must make it doubly difficult for the conductor. Why is it so difficult for the present crew to understand where the horse goes in relation to the cart? He added he feared it might prove difficult for the staff losing their jobs to find new work in this area. We all acknowledged the fact that this decision is very difficult for you to understand. It was difficult for his cowered staff to stand up to this overbearing behaviour. He is better than he was, but it was difficult for him to even make it here, and he only lives a couple of miles away. It is very difficult for me to disagree with the statement that they deplore it. It is as difficult for us to understand adolescents as it is for them to understand us. The game is so quick that it is very difficult for them to see everything and to get every decision right. There was a spell when it was difficult for me to choose between certain players. It can also be difficult for them to speak to friends about the emotions they are experiencing. Synonyms hard, strenuous, arduous, laborious, heavy, tough, onerous, burdensome, demanding, punishing, gruelling, grinding, back-breaking, painful problematic, hard, puzzling, baffling, perplexing, confusing, mystifying, mysterious 1.1 Characterized by or causing hardships or problems. a difficult economic climate Example sentencesExamples It is tempting to pretend that the last few days have been dark and difficult for Britain. It makes life so difficult for disabled people, it's just not right. Your uncompromising honesty and painfully truthful criticisms can make life difficult at times. The past two years have been a particularly difficult time for the people working there. I know this has been a very difficult and stressful time for the family and for staff involved. Disabled shoppers claim a new supermarket car park is making life difficult for them. The family are finding it a bit difficult at the moment as you can imagine. But my being away does make things difficult for the family because I work for my father. The snow and ice which had made life difficult for the past eight weeks was finally on the retreat. The bereaved should not have to be faced with such problems at what is already a very difficult time. Doctors are a dedicated lot, mostly doing a superb job under difficult circumstances. Apparently, her puss Fang soon tires of any particular flavor and makes life difficult at meal times. The whole situation is made more difficult by the complexity of the cost equations. Doesn't the fact that his father died in an automobile accident make it difficult for him? The State of Oregon is looking hard to save where it can in this difficult business climate. I was also a union steward at that time involved in long and difficult negotiations. Synonyms inconvenient, awkward, unfavourable, unfortunate, inappropriate, unsuitable, untimely, ill-timed, inopportune, inexpedient, disadvantageous bad, tough, grim, terrible, awful, dreadful, nightmarish, dark, black, hard, adverse, unpleasant, unwelcome, disagreeable, distressing, harrowing 1.2 (of a person) not easy to please or satisfy. Lily could be difficult Example sentencesExamples I'm not saying my brother is a difficult person but he does have trouble committing to family events. He is a difficult person but he has never tried to influence me. We all know she is a difficult woman, but not that difficult. He was apparently a difficult man to deal with but always Burnley through and through. It's quite a hard thing to say, but my Nan is a very difficult person for me to be around. He has succeeded in showing us that he is a difficult man, but that needed no great mastery. My character in the film had a very difficult father and there was one scene in which she had to stand up to him. Synonyms troublesome, tiresome, trying, exasperating, demanding, unmanageable, intractable, perverse, contrary, recalcitrant, obstreperous, refractory, fractious Origin Late Middle English: back-formation from difficulty.
随便看	fight shy of fight somebody off fight someone off fight someone/something off fight someone/something off fight something off fight sth off fight tooth and nail fight tooth and nail fight way fight with fig leaf fig-leaf fig leaves figment figmental figment of one's imagination figment of the imagination figmentor figments fig parrot figs fig-tree fig tree fig-trees