difficult

adjective

dif·​fi·​cult ˈdi-fi-(ˌ)kəlt 

1

: hard to do, make, or carry out : arduous

a difficult climb

2

a

: hard to deal with, manage, or overcome

was in a difficult position

Why must you be so difficult?

having a difficult time coping with her death

b

: hard to understand : puzzling

difficult reading

found calculus too difficult

difficultly adverb

Synonyms of difficult

• challenging
• tough
• hard
• rigorous
• demanding
• formidable
• complicated

Choose the Right Synonym for difficult

hard, difficult, arduous mean demanding great exertion or effort.

hard implies the opposite of all that is easy.

farming is hard work

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

Examples of difficult in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples on the Web

They were initially devised as an innovation to make multi-day cricket playable at nighttime — the standard, dark red ball is too difficult to see under floodlights — and thereby boost the sport’s finances. —Matt Roller, New York Times, 1 Dec. 2025

Denaturalization is a rare and legally difficult process that Miller and white nationalists like Nick Fuentes have been pushing to 'supercharge' the process for years now. —Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Dec. 2025

Now comes the difficult part for Brown and the other trainers who shipped horses in from the East Coast for the Turf Festival. —Bill Center, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Dec. 2025

Romantic love might have more inherent drama, but friendship has its tricky continuities and its loyalties in the face of a difficult and dangerous world. —The New Yorker, New Yorker, 30 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, probably back-formation from difficulte difficulty

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

difficult

adjective

dif·​fi·​cult ˈdif-i-(ˌ)kəlt 

1

: hard to do, make, or carry out

a difficult climb

2

a

: hard to deal with, manage, or overcome

a difficult child

b

: hard to understand : puzzling

difficult reading

difficultly adverb