/ ˈdɪfɪkəlt; NAmE / adjective
1.
difficult (for sb) (to do sth) not easy; needing effort or skill to do or to understand :
a difficult problem / task / exam
It's difficult for them to get here much before seven.
It's really difficult to read your writing.
Your writing is really difficult to read.
She finds it very difficult to get up early.
2.
full of problems; causing a lot of trouble :
to be in a difficult position / situation
My boss is making life very difficult for me.
13 is a difficult age.
3.
( of people ) not easy to please; not helpful
SYN awkward :
a difficult child / customer / boss
Don't pay any attention to her—she's just being difficult.
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IDIOMS
see job , life
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SYNONYMS
difficult
hard ♦ challenging ♦ demanding ♦ taxing ♦ testing
These words all describe sth that is not easy and requires a lot of effort or skill to do.
difficult
not easy; needing effort or skill to do or understand:
The exam questions were quite difficult.
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It is difficult for young people to find jobs around here.
hard
not easy; needing effort or skill to do or understand:
I always found languages quite hard at school.
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It was one of the hardest things I ever did.
difficult or hard?
Hard is slightly less formal than difficult . It is used particularly in the structure hard to believe / say / find / take, etc. , although difficult can also be used in any of these examples.
challenging
( approving ) difficult in an interesting way that tests your ability.
demanding
difficult to do or deal with and needing a lot of effort, skill or patience:
It is a technically demanding piece of music to play.
taxing
(often used in negative statements) difficult to do and needing a lot of mental or physical effort:
This shouldn't be too taxing for you.
testing
difficult to deal with and needing particular strength or abilities:
It was a testing time for us all.
demanding, taxing or testing?
Demanding is the strongest of these words and describes tasks and experiences. It is often used with more or most or an adverb that says in what way the activity is difficult. Taxing is used particularly in negative statements and to talk about problems or tasks that need (or do not need) mental effort. Testing describes experiences but not tasks and is used particularly with time , week or year .
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
difficult / hard / challenging / demanding / taxing / testing for sb
difficult / hard to do sth
a difficult / hard / challenging / demanding / taxing / testing time / week / year
to be / become / get / find sth difficult / hard / challenging / demanding / taxing / testing
very / extremely / really / rather / quite difficult / hard / challenging / demanding / taxing / testing
physically difficult / hard / challenging / demanding / taxing
technically difficult / challenging / demanding
mentally / intellectually challenging / demanding / taxing
academically challenging / demanding
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : back-formation from difficulty .