DIFFICULT

adj. 1 hard, arduous, toilsome, strenuous, tough, laborious, burdensome, onerous, demanding He found it difficult to work the longer hours The first birth is sometimes difficult. 2 puzzling, perplexing, baffling, enigmatic(al), profound, abstruse, obscure, recondite, complex; thorny, intricate, sensitive, knotty, problematic(al), ticklish, scabrous Some of the questions in the exam were very difficult The analyst raised a lot of difficult issues which I had to confront. 3 intractable, recalcitrant, obstructive, stubborn, unmanageable, obstinate, contrary, unaccommodating, refractory, unyielding, uncompromising; naughty, ill-behaved; Colloq Brit bloody-minded Tessa has three difficult teenagers in the house these days 4 troubled, troubling, tough, burdensome, onerous, demanding, trying, hard, grim, dark, unfavourable, straitening We have been through some difficult times together 5 fussy, particular, demanding, finicky, finical, fastidious, critical, troublesome, difficile, awkward, Colloq nit-picking I'll go wherever you like; I don't want to be difficult about it Sharon can be a very difficult person to be with.