difficult
adjective
dif·fi·cult
ˈdi-fi-(ˌ)kəlt 
1
: hard to do, make, or carry out : arduous
a difficult climb
2
a
: hard to deal with, manage, or overcome
a difficult child
having a difficult time coping with her death
b
: hard to understand : puzzling
difficult reading
found calculus too difficult
difficultly
adverb
Examples of difficult in a Sentence
We were asked lots of difficult questions.
I had to make a very difficult decision.
We'll be hiking over difficult terrain.
It's more difficult than it sounds.
I found myself in a difficult position.
Some difficult days lie ahead of us.
These changes will make life difficult for everyone involved.
Recent Examples on the Web
One of the world’s most persistent waste problems, plastics are durable and difficult to recycle.
—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 27 Oct. 2025
But grass is difficult to digest for the mammal.
—Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 27 Oct. 2025
Managing this amount of data is extremely difficult and requires massive amounts of computing power, but the information is becoming more accurate every day as the number of sightings increase.
—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2025
In nursing homes, Robin plays memory games with people suffering from dementia, takes them through breathing exercises on difficult days and offers them a form of companionship that resembles a grandchild with a grandparent.
—Hallie Golden The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for difficult
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 27 Oct. 2025
But grass is difficult to digest for the mammal.
—Craig Shoup, Nashville Tennessean, 27 Oct. 2025
Managing this amount of data is extremely difficult and requires massive amounts of computing power, but the information is becoming more accurate every day as the number of sightings increase.
—Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Oct. 2025
In nursing homes, Robin plays memory games with people suffering from dementia, takes them through breathing exercises on difficult days and offers them a form of companionship that resembles a grandchild with a grandparent.
—Hallie Golden The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 26 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for difficult
Cite this Entry
“Difficult.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/difficult. Accessed 1 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
difficult
adjective
dif·fi·cult
ˈdif-i-(ˌ)kəlt
1
: hard to do, make, or carry out
a difficult climb
2
a
: hard to deal with, manage, or overcome
a difficult child
b
: hard to understand : puzzling
difficult reading
difficultly
adverb
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share