difficult
ADJECTIVE:
1. not easily or readily done; requiring much labor, skill, or planning to be performed successfully; hard:
a difficult job.
2. hard, or not easy to understand or solve; intricate; puzzling:
a difficult problem; difficult reading; found calculus too difficult.
3. hard to deal with or get on with, manage, or overcome; troublesome:
a difficult pupil; a difficult child; having a difficult time coping with her death.
4. hard to please or satisfy:
a difficult employer.
5. hard to persuade or induce; stubborn:
a difficult old man.
6. disadvantageous; trying; hampering:
The operation was performed under the most difficult conditions.
7. fraught with hardship, especially financial hardship:
We saw some difficult times during the depression years.
8. not easily convinced, pleased, or satisfied:
a difficult audience.
9. full of hardships or trials:
difficult times ahead.
10. hard, or not easy to do, make, or carry out; arduous; requiring effort:
a difficult climb; a difficult job.
Examples:
We were asked lots of difficult questions; I had to make a very difficult decision. —Merriam-Webster.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English, back formation from difficulty. British dictionary: C14: back formation from difficulty. —Dictionary.com. // First Known Use of difficult: 14th century. History and Etymology for difficult: Middle English, probably back-formation from difficulte difficulty.
—Merriam-Webster.
Sources: 1, 2.
Updated: 23 August 2020 {7:15 PM}
1. not easily or readily done; requiring much labor, skill, or planning to be performed successfully; hard:
a difficult job.
2. hard, or not easy to understand or solve; intricate; puzzling:
a difficult problem; difficult reading; found calculus too difficult.
3. hard to deal with or get on with, manage, or overcome; troublesome:
a difficult pupil; a difficult child; having a difficult time coping with her death.
4. hard to please or satisfy:
a difficult employer.
5. hard to persuade or induce; stubborn:
a difficult old man.
6. disadvantageous; trying; hampering:
The operation was performed under the most difficult conditions.
7. fraught with hardship, especially financial hardship:
We saw some difficult times during the depression years.
8. not easily convinced, pleased, or satisfied:
a difficult audience.
9. full of hardships or trials:
difficult times ahead.
10. hard, or not easy to do, make, or carry out; arduous; requiring effort:
a difficult climb; a difficult job.
Examples:
We were asked lots of difficult questions; I had to make a very difficult decision. —Merriam-Webster.
Origin:
1350–1400; Middle English, back formation from difficulty. British dictionary: C14: back formation from difficulty. —Dictionary.com. // First Known Use of difficult: 14th century. History and Etymology for difficult: Middle English, probably back-formation from difficulte difficulty.
—Merriam-Webster.
Sources: 1, 2.
Updated: 23 August 2020 {7:15 PM}