Synonyms of the word

difficult

• adj. Hard, not easy, requiring much effort.
• adj. (often of a person, or a horse, etc) Hard to manage, uncooperative, troublesome.
• adj. (obsolete) Unable or unwilling.
• v. (obsolete, transitive) To make difficult; to impede; to perplex.

ambitious

• adj. Possessing, or controlled by ambition; greatly or inordinately desirous of power, honor, office, superiority,…
• adj. Strongly desirous—followed by "of" or the infinitive; as, ambitious to be or to do something.
• adj. Resulting from, characterized by, or indicating, ambition; showy; aspiring.
• adj. Hard to achieve.

arduous

• adj. Needing or using up much energy; testing powers of endurance.
• adj. (obsolete) burning; ardent.
• adj. Difficult or exhausting to traverse.

awkward

• adv. (obsolete) In a backwards direction.
• adj. Lacking dexterity in the use of the hands, or of instruments.
• adj. Not easily managed or effected; embarrassing.
• adj. Lacking social skills, or uncomfortable with social interaction.
• adj. Perverse; adverse; difficult to handle.
• n. Someone or something that is awkward.

baffling

• v. present participle of baffle.
• adj. puzzling and frustrating.
• n. An act of foiling or thwarting.

catchy

• adj. Instantly appealing and memorable (of a tune or phrase).
• adj. (dated, chiefly figuratively) Tending to catch or ensnare; entangling.
• adj. (dated) Consisting of, or occurring in, disconnected parts or snatches; changeable.

challenging

• v. present participle of challenge.
• adj. Difficult, hard to do.
• n. The act of making a challenge.

defiant

• adj. defying.
• adj. Boldly resisting opposition.

delicate

• adj. Easily damaged or requiring careful handling.
• adj. Characterized by a fine structure or thin lines.
• adj. Intended for use with fragile items.
• adj. Refined; gentle; scrupulous not to trespass or offend; considerate; said of manners, conduct, or feelings.
• adj. Of weak health; easily sick; unable to endure hardship.
• adj. (informal) Unwell, especially because of having drunk too much alcohol.
• adj. (obsolete) Addicted to pleasure; luxurious; voluptuous; alluring.
• adj. Pleasing to the senses; refined; adapted to please an elegant or cultivated taste.
• adj. Slight and shapely; lovely; graceful.
• adj. Light, or softly tinted; said of a colour.
• adj. Of exacting tastes and habits; dainty; fastidious.
• adj. Highly discriminating or perceptive; refinedly critical; sensitive; exquisite.
• adj. Affected by slight causes; showing slight changes.
• n. A delicate item of clothing, especially underwear or lingerie.
• n. (obsolete) A choice dainty; a delicacy.
• n. (obsolete) A delicate, luxurious, or effeminate person.

demanding

• adj. Requiring much endurance, strength, or patience.
• v. present participle of demand.

disobedient

• adj. Not obedient.

effortful

• adj. Requiring or showing effort.

embarrassing

• v. present participle of embarrass.
• n. The action of the verb to embarrass.
• adj. Causing embarrassment; leading to a feeling of uncomfortable shame or self-consciousness.

fractious

• adj. given to troublemaking.
• adj. irritable; argumentative; quarrelsome.

hard

• adj. (of material or fluid) Having a severe property; presenting difficulty.
• adj. (personal or social) Having a severe property; presenting difficulty.
• adj. Unquestionable.
• adj. (of a road intersection) Having a comparatively larger or a ninety-degree angle.
• adj. (slang, vulgar, of a male) Sexually aroused.
• adj. (bodybuilding) Having muscles that are tightened as a result of intense, regular exercise.
• adj. (phonetics, not comparable).
• adj. (art) Having a severe property; presenting a barrier to enjoyment.
• adj. (not comparable) In the form of a hard copy.
• adv. (manner) With much force or effort.
• adv. (manner) With difficulty.
• adv. (obsolete) So as to raise difficulties.
• adv. (manner) Compactly.
• adv. (now archaic) Near, close.
• n. (countable, nautical) A firm or paved beach or slope convenient for hauling vessels out of the water.
• n. (uncountable, drugs, colloquial, slang) crack cocaine.

herculean

• adj. Alternative letter-case form of Herculean.

indocile

• adj. Unwilling to be taught or instructed; intractable or recalcitrant.

intractable

• adj. Not tractable; not able to be managed, controlled, governed or directed.
• adj. (mathematics) Not able to be solved (of a mathematical problem).
• adj. Stubborn; obstinate (of a person).
• adj. (medicine) Difficult to treat (of a medical condition).

knotty

• adj. Full of knots.
• adj. Complicated or tricky; complex; difficult.

nasty

• adj. (now chiefly US) Dirty, filthy.
• adj. Contemptible, unpleasant (of a person).
• adj. Objectionable, unpleasant (of a thing); repellent, offensive.
• adj. Indecent or offensive; obscene, lewd.
• adj. Spiteful, unkind.
• adj. (chiefly Britain) Awkward, difficult to navigate; dangerous.
• adj. (chiefly Britain) Grave or dangerous (of an accident, illness etc.).
• adj. (slang, chiefly US) Formidable, terrific; wicked.
• n. (informal) Something nasty.
• n. (euphemistic, preceded by "the") Sexual intercourse.

noncompliant

• adj. Not compliant; rebellious.
• n. One who fails to comply, for example with a law.

problematic

• adj. Posing a problem; having or suffering from problem(s).
• n. (chiefly in the plural) A problem or difficulty in a particular field of study.

problematical

• adj. doubtful or disputed.
• adj. dubious or ambiguous.

rocky

• adj. Unstable; easily rocked.
• adj. In the style of rock and roll music.
• adj. (figuratively) Troubled; or difficult; in danger or distress.
• adj. Full of, or abounding in, rocks; consisting of rocks.
• adj. Like a rock.
• adj. (figuratively) Not easily impressed or affected; hard; unfeeling; obdurate; as, a rocky bosom.

rough

• adj. Having a texture that has much friction. Not smooth; uneven.
• adj. Approximate; hasty or careless; not finished.
• adj. Turbulent.
• adj. Difficult; trying.
• adj. Crude; unrefined.
• adj. Violent; not careful or subtle.
• adj. Loud and hoarse; offensive to the ear; harsh; grating.
• adj. Not polished; uncut; said of a gem.
• adj. Harsh-tasting.
• n. The unmowed part of a golf course.
• n. A rude fellow; a coarse bully; a rowdy.
• n. (cricket) A scuffed and roughened area of the pitch, where the bowler's feet fall, used as a target by…
• n. The raw material from which faceted or cabochon gems are created.
• n. A quick sketch, similar to a thumbnail, but larger and more detailed. Meant for artistic brainstorming…
• n. (obsolete) Boisterous weather.
• v. To create in an approximate form.
• v. (ice hockey) To commit the offense of roughing, i.e. to punch another player.
• v. To render rough; to roughen.
• v. To break in (a horse, etc.), especially for military purposes.
• adv. In a rough manner; rudely; roughly.

rugged

• adj. Broken into sharp or irregular points; uneven; not smooth; rough.
• adj. Nor neat nor regular; irregular, uneven.
• adj. Rough with bristles or hair; shaggy.
• adj. (of a person) Strong, sturdy, well-built.
• adj. (of land) Rocky and bare of plantlife.
• adj. (of temper, character, or people) Harsh; austere; hard; crabbed.
• adj. Stormy; turbulent; tempestuous; rude.
• adj. (of sound, style etc.) Harsh; grating; rough to the ear.
• adj. (of looks, appearance etc.) Sour; surly; frowning; wrinkled.
• adj. (of behaviour) Violent; rude; boisterous.
• adj. (of health, physique etc.) Vigorous; robust; hardy.
• adj. (computing, of a computer) Designed to reliably operate in harsh usage environments and conditions.
• adj. Having a rug or rugs.
• adj. Covered with a rug.
• v. simple past tense and past participle of rug.

serious

• adj. Without humor or expression of happiness; grave in manner or disposition; earnest; solemn.
• adj. Important; weighty; not insignificant.
• adj. Really intending what is said; in earnest; not jocular or deceiving.

sticky

• adj. Able or likely to stick.
• adj. Potentially difficult to escape from.
• adj. Of weather, hot and windless and with high humidity, so that people feel sticky from sweating.
• adj. (computing, informal, of a setting) Persistent.
• adj. (computing, of a window) Appearing on all virtual desktops.
• adj. (Internet, of threads on a bulletin board) Fixed at the top of the list of topics or threads so as to…
• adj. (Internet, of a website) Compelling enough to keep visitors from leaving.
• n. A sticky note, such as a post-it note.
• n. (manufacturing) A small adhesive particle found in wastepaper.
• n. (Australia, colloquial) A sweet dessert wine.
• v. (Internet, bulletin boards, transitive) to fix a thread at the top of the list of topics or threads so…

tall

• adj. (of a person) Having a vertical extent greater than the average. For example, somebody with a height of…
• adj. (of a building, etc.) Having its top a long way up; having a great vertical (and often greater than horizontal)…
• adj. (of a story) Hard to believe, such as a tall story or a tall tale.
• adj. (chiefly US, of a cup of coffee) A cup of coffee smaller than grande, usually 8 ounces.
• adj. (obsolete) Obsequious; obedient.
• adj. (obsolete) Seemly; suitable; fitting, becoming, comely; attractive, handsome.
• adj. (obsolete) Bold; brave; courageous; valiant.
• adj. (archaic) Fine; proper; admirable; great; excellent.

thorny

• adj. having thorns or spines.
• adj. troublesome or vexatious.
• adj. aloof and irritable.

ticklish

• adj. Sensitive or susceptible to being tickled.
• adj. Touchy, sensitive, or delicate.

tight

• adj. Firmly held together; compact; not loose or open.
• adj. (of a space, design or arrangement) Narrow, such that it is difficult for something or someone to pass…
• adj. Well-rehearsed and accurate in execution.
• adj. (slang) Intoxicated; drunk or acting like being drunk.
• adj. (slang) Extraordinarily great or special.
• adj. (slang, British (regional)) Mean; unfair; unkind.
• adj. (obsolete) Not ragged; whole; neat; tidy.
• adj. (obsolete) Handy; adroit; brisk.
• adj. (poker) Of a player, who plays very few hands.
• adj. (poker) Using a strategy which involves playing very few hands.
• adv. Firmly, so as not to come loose easily.
• adv. Soundly.
• v. (obsolete) To tighten.

touchy

• adj. (of a situation) Extremely sensitive or volatile; easily disturbed to the point of becoming unstable;…
• adj. (of a person) Easily offended; oversensitive; ticklish.

tough

• adj. Strong and resilient; sturdy.
• adj. (of food) Difficult to cut or chew.
• adj. Rugged or physically hardy.
• adj. Stubborn.
• adj. (of weather etc) Harsh or severe.
• adj. Rowdy or rough.
• adj. (of questions, etc.) Difficult or demanding.
• adj. (material science) Undergoing plastic deformation before breaking.
• interj. (slang) Used to indicate lack of sympathy.
• n. A person who obtains things by force; a thug or bully.
• v. To endure.
• v. To toughen.

tricky

• adj. hard to deal with, complicated.
• adj. adept at using deception.
• adj. (colloquial, slang) Relating to or associated with a prostitution trick.

troublesome

• adj. Characterised by trouble or anxiety; vexatious; burdensome; wearisome.

trying

• adj. Difficult to endure; arduous.
• adj. Irritating, stressful or bothersome.
• v. present participle of try.
• n. (philosophy) The act by which one tries something; an attempt.

uncheckable

• adj. Incapable of being checked.

uncontrollable

• adj. Not able to be controlled, contained or governed.

unenviable

• adj. Difficult, undesirable, or unpleasant; not to be envied.

ungovernable

• adj. Not governable.

unmanageable

• adj. Not manageable; not readily submitting to handling or management; not easily restrained, governed, or…

unruly

• adj. wild; uncontrolled.

vexed

• adj. annoyed, irritated or distressed.
• adj. much debated, discussed or disputed.
• v. simple past tense and past participle of vex.