Definition of: difficult

(dif′ə·kult, -kəlt) adjective
1. Hard to do or be done; arduous; troublesome to understand; perplexing.
2. Hard to persuade, overcome, or satisfy; intractable; exacting. [Back formation <DIFFICULTY]
—dif′fi·cult·ly adverb Synonyms: arduous, exhausting, hard, laborious, onerous, severe, toilsome, trying. Arduous applies to that which involves great and sustained exertion; great learning can only be won by arduous toil. Anything is hard that involves tax and strain whether of the physical or mental powers. Difficult is not used of that which merely taxes physical force; a dead lift is called hard rather than difficult; that is difficult which involves skill, sagacity, or address, with or without a considerable expenditure of physical force; a geometrical problem may be difficult to solve, a mountain difficult to ascend. Hard may be active or passive; a thing may be hard to do or hard to bear. Arduous is always active. That which is laborious or toilsome requires the steady application of labor or toil till accomplished; toilsome is the stronger word. That which is onerous is mentally burdensome or oppressive. See ARDUOUS, HARD, OBSCURE, SQUEAMISH, TROUBLESOME. Antonyms: easy, facile, light, pleasant, slight, trifling, trivial.