difficult Meaning & Definition
What Does Difficult Mean?
Difficult is used as an adjective meaning hard to do, make, or carry out. It is also used to mean hard to deal with, manage, or overcome.
Quick Facts About Difficult
| Part of speech | adjective |
|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /ˈdi-fi-(ˌ)kəlt/ |
| Syllables | 3 |
| Synonyms | arduous, delicate and vexed |
| Antonyms | easy, cheap and effortless |
| Comparative / superlative | more difficult, most difficult |
| Adverb | difficultly |
Difficult Definition (Adjective)
- hard to do, make, or carry out : arduous
a difficult climb
- 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
- hard to understand : puzzling
difficult reading / found calculus too difficult
Synonyms of Difficult
Antonyms of Difficult
Difficult in a Sentence
difficult of accomplishment
However, the difficult weather conditions will ensure Yunnan has plenty of freshwater.
If they're difficult, offer them more.
Stop being difficult and eat your broccoli—you know it's good for you.
a difficult climb
was in a difficult position
Why must you be so difficult?
having a difficult time coping with her death
difficult reading
found calculus too difficult
difficult questions on the exam that required analytical thinking
it's a difficult situation when two of your friends are quarreling and you're trying to stay out of it
was in a difficult position / Why must you be so difficult? / having a difficult time coping with her death
difficult reading / found calculus too difficult
Word Forms & Grammar
dif·fi·cult·ly adverb
difficult
difficultly
difficult (comparative more difficult, superlative most difficult)
difficult (third-person singular simple present difficults, present participle difficulting, simple past and past participle difficulted)
Origin of Difficult
Origin 1: Middle English, probably back-formation from difficulte difficulty
Origin 2: From Middle English difficult (ca. 1400), a back-formation from difficulte (whence modern difficulty), from Old French difficulté, from Latin difficultas, from difficul, older form of difficilis (“hard to do, difficult”), from dis- + facilis (“easy”); see difficile. Replaced native Middle English earveþ (“difficult, hard”), from Old English earfoþe (“difficult, laborious, full of hardship”), cognate to German Arbeit (“work”).
Origin 3: The verb is from the adjective, partly after Middle French difficulter and its etymon Latin difficultō. Compare difficilitate, difficultate, and Italian difficoltare.[1]
First Known Use
14th century
Difficult Pronunciation
The standard pronunciation of difficult is /ˈdi-fi-(ˌ)kəlt/, spoken in 3 syllables, with the main stress on the first syllable (di).
Difficult: Your Questions Answered
What part of speech is difficult?
Difficult is an adjective.
What is another word for difficult?
Close synonyms of difficult are arduous, delicate and vexed. See the full list of difficult synonyms and antonyms.
What is the opposite of difficult?
The opposite of difficult can be expressed with words like easy, cheap, effortless and facile.
What are the comparative and superlative forms of difficult?
The comparative form is more difficult and the superlative form is most difficult.