difficult

verb

(obsolete, transitive) To make difficult; to impede; to perplex.

adjective

Hard, not easy, requiring much effort.

(often of a person, or a horse, etc) Hard to manage, uncooperative, troublesome.

(obsolete) Unable or unwilling.

Roots

faciofic- · Latin · make, do

Synonyms for difficult

hardadj difficile unmanageableadj problematicaladj arduousadj toughadj problematicadj complicatedadj troublesomeadj laboriousadj tryingadj toilsomeadj effortfuladj onerousadj burdensomeadj stressfuladj troublousadj troublingadj

Synonyms & related words for difficult

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of difficult — including hard, difficile, unmanageable, problematical, arduous, tough. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to difficult

Explore words related to difficult — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include trickier, difficultly, challenging, impossible, difficulty, irresoluble, cumbersome, daunting. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for difficult

Common synonyms for difficult include hard, difficile, unmanageable, problematical, arduous, tough, problematic, complicated — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does difficult come from?

The word difficult breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root fic-, from Latin facio (“make, do”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.