Definitions for difficult
ˈdɪf ɪˌkʌlt, -kəltdif·fi·cult

Princeton's WordNet(4.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. difficult, hard(adj)

   not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure

   "a difficult task"; "nesting places on the cliffs are difficult of access"; "difficult times"; "why is it so hard for you to keep a secret?"

2. unmanageable, difficult(adj)

   hard to control

   "a difficult child", "an unmanageable situation"

Wiktionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. difficult(Adjective)

   hard, not easy, requiring much effort

   Etymology: From difficulty, from difficultee, from difficulté, from difficultas, from difficul, older form of difficilis, from dis- + facilis; see difficile.

2. difficult(Adjective)

   hard to manage, uncooperative, troublesome; eg. said of a person, a horse, etc.

   Etymology: From difficulty, from difficultee, from difficulté, from difficultas, from difficul, older form of difficilis, from dis- + facilis; see difficile.

Webster Dictionary(1.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Difficult(adj)

   hard to do or to make; beset with difficulty; attended with labor, trouble, or pains; not easy; arduous

2. Difficult(adj)

   hard to manage or to please; not easily wrought upon; austere; stubborn; as, a difficult person

3. Difficult(verb)

   to render difficult; to impede; to perplex

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Difficult

   dif′i-kult, adj. not easy: hard to be done: requiring labour and pains: hard to please: not easily persuaded.—adv. Diff′icultly.—n. Diff′iculty, laboriousness: obstacle: objection: that which cannot be easily understood or believed: embarrassment of affairs: a quarrel. [The adj. was formed from difficulty, in place of the old form difficile. Fr. difficulté—L. difficultas = difficilitas—difficilis—dif (= dis), neg., and facilis, easy.]

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'difficult' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #425

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'difficult' in Written Corpus Frequency: #457

3. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'difficult' in Adjectives Frequency: #44

How to pronounce difficult?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say difficult in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of difficult in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of difficult in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of difficult in a Sentence

1. Soichiro Monji:

   Even if the BOJ were to ease again, it is difficult to tell whether that would lift stocks and weaken the yen.

2. Martin Simiyu:

   It makes it difficult for my life right now, we are coming to a place where we can not service these vehicles, we cannot take care of our family, we cannot pay the loans. It becomes hard for us. Why should I keep the vehicle on the road and maybe I'm not getting anything out of it?

3. Anna Duritskaya:

   I am in a very difficult psychological condition and I cannot talk about this any more now. I feel bad ... I saw no one. I don't know where he came from, he was behind my back.

4. Jason Chaffetz:

   It is an incredibly difficult job to be Speaker of the House.

5. Korean Sangyup Lee:

   Because of these technologies, the car industry is about to hit a crossroads. The future is truly open, it's difficult to say if all the prestigious brands today will still be around in 10-20 years.

Images & Illustrations of difficult

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