13 Other Words for Difficult

There are other words for difficult that you need to know. These alternative words will help you boost your vocabulary, particularly if you want to upgrade your English level.

Hi, there this is Harry and I want to talk to you today about the word difficult. D I F F I C U L T. Let’s learn how and when we use the word ‘difficult’ and what does it mean.

Words to use instead of difficult

Other Words for Difficult

Other words for difficult. How to say difficult in English. www.englishlessonviaskype.com #learnenglish #englishlessons #английский #angielski #nauka #ingles #Idiomas #idioms #English #englishteacher #ielts #toefl #vocabulary #ingilizce #inglese

Of course, it’s not such a difficult word to explain and we use it a lot when we have a problem with homework when we have a problem with our sports activities or relationships so it’s a common word and in that use.

But with English and particularly when I’m teaching English, I like my students to understand alternative options, synonyms that theyΒ can use so they don’t have to repeat the same word over and over again.

And, of course, if you’re studying English seriously and you want to take some exams (FCE, IELTS) then a broader and wider vocabulary is absolutely essential.

Particularly for the spoken and written parts of those exams.

Intermediate to Advanced English Marathon

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

INSANITY: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Even if you’re going on to higher-level English and you want to do some perhaps creative writing.

Well, then you know vast an increasedΒ range of words is really reallyΒ important.Β 

So as I said, difficult is a word we use when we have a problem.Β 

MyΒ work is difficult because my boss keepsΒ asking me to do more and more.

My socialΒ life is difficult because I don’t have aΒ girlfriend.

My sports life is difficult because I’mΒ not fit and I can’t get on the footballΒ team.Β 

Okay. So we can use the wordΒ difficult difficult difficult.

Here are some alternatives that you might like toΒ consider instead of difficult:

TOUGH

HARD

FORMIDABLE

AWKWARDΒ (I’ll come back to that. A little bit of a question about whether we should or we shouldn’t use it)

CHALLENGING

ONEROUS

ARDUOUS

13 Other Words to Say Difficult in English

So there youΒ have a lotΒ of alternatives that you can use.Β 

Some ofΒ them directly can be substituted,Β othersΒ you just have to be careful in theΒ circumstances in which you use them.Β SoΒ let me give you some examples.

tough

TheΒ exam was really tough.

There were some tough questions in the quiz.

Tough is directly substituted orΒ substitutional for the word difficult.

MyΒ exam was very difficult.Β My exam questionΒ number 2Β was difficult.

Question number 2Β was tough.

So they can substitute thoseΒ directly for each other.

hard

AnotherΒ word that we can substitute directly.

My exam was difficult.

MyΒ exam was hard.Β Question number 2Β wasΒ very hard.

Okay.Β So exactly the same meaning here asΒ tough and exactly the same meaning asΒ difficult.Β 

13 Other Words to Say Difficult in English

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demanding

While demanding canΒ have a few different meanings and we canΒ say something is difficult it’sΒ demanding but when it’s not impossible.

The work he has to do these days isΒ quite demanding because he recently gotΒ promoted and therefore there’s moreΒ expected of him.

Married life can beΒ quite demanding.Β Pressures ofΒ relationships, buying a home,Β repaying theΒ mortgage,Β having children these are allΒ aspects of married life that are quiteΒ demanding.

And again we could use theΒ word difficult.

formidable

Here thisΒ could have the same meaning as difficultΒ but has a slightly different context.

The opponents that we are playing on Saturday are quite a formidable team. They haven’t been beaten all season so we’re really going to have our work cut out (meaning: it’s going toΒ be difficult)Β if we’re going to getΒ anything out of the game.Β If we are goingΒ to beat them.

So this opposition is quiteΒ formidable.

His opponent in the boxingΒ match was the most formidable person heΒ has fought to date.Β This person has neverΒ been defeated and he is really strong. He’s really well-built, he is extremely fit and it would beΒ quite an achievement to win that fight.

So this opponent is quite formidable.

WeΒ could say difficult but difficultΒ wouldn’t quite give you the same meaningΒ whereas formidable gives you moreΒ expression that he’s tough,Β he’s strong, he’s fit and you know it’s going to beΒ quite an achievement to succeed.

13 Other Words to Say Difficult in English

challenging

Competition can be challenging.

A question can be challenging.

Any particular activity that we find a little difficult can be challenging.

Completing a marathon run can be challenging if you’ve never run the distance before.

awkward

I mentioned in the introduction of the video the word awkward.

I wouldn’t be inclined to use awkward as difficult. It can be used but it has many other meanings as well, so I wouldn’t use it as an option for difficult.

Awkward means you are not quite comfortable with something. Something is not necessarily difficult but it is uncomfortable.

onerous

arduous

Meaning: extremely difficult, something that requires a lot of effort

The words onerous and arduous are a little bit more of a higher-level English and so you can practice these. These are again the good words to substitute for difficult.

The task that they set them was very onerous, it took many hours to complete it.

The walk up the hill wasn’t really a walk, it was a trek and it was very arduous.Β 

Augean

An Augean task is an extremely difficult task that is impossible to complete.

Sarah was faced with the Augean task of cleaning up the communal kitchen after a party.

gruelling

Meaning: very difficult, something that is very tiring and requires a lot of continuous effort

Cycling up that hill was gruelling but I’ve dreamt of this moment since I was about 12.

tricky

Meaning: this is a soft word to describe something that is difficult

Some of the technical questions were very tricky, but you got a great score. Well done!

Other Words to Say Difficult in English

And a couple of not slang expressions but more informal English expressions that we can use to describe something difficult.

be no picnic

Picnic is a very nice thing to have out in the park, with some sandwiches a glass of wine or whatever you’re having.

When we say something is no picnic it means it is quite difficult.

Being a freelancer is no picnic.

beΒ no walkΒ in the park

Again, a walk in the park is something quite interesting and exciting, something you can easily do.

So when we say something was no walk in the park it means it was quite difficult.

Arranging a charity event is no walk in the park.

More Information

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