1
general::
difficult
not easy to do, understand, or deal with:
• a difficult question • The homework was really difficult. • It is difficult to see how peace can be achieved in the region.
hard
difficult. Hard is less formal than difficult and is very common in spoken English:
• The test was really hard. • a hard decision • It was hard to forgive him.
tough
very difficult, because you have to use a lot of effort, or because it affects you emotionally:
• a tough race • Doctors have to make tough decisions about who to treat first. • The team faces some tough competition. • Life is tough sometimes.
tricky
difficult because it is complicated and full of problems:
• She had helped him out of a tricky situation. • Merging the two companies was bound to be tricky.
awkward
rather difficult to deal with – used especially when something could be embarrassing:
• You’ve put me in a very awkward position. • It was getting dark and foggy, which made the rescue even more awkward.
challenging
difficult in an interesting or enjoyable way:
• I wanted a job that was more challenging. • a challenging piece of music
demanding
difficult and tiring, because it takes a lot of effort:
• Being a nurse in a busy hospital is a demanding job. • it can be very demanding bringing up young children.
daunting
if something seems daunting, you think that it will be difficult and you do not feel confident about being able to do it:
• a daunting challenge • The task seemed a little daunting at first.
delicate
needing to be dealt with carefully or sensitively, especially in order to avoid offending people or causing problems:
• This is a very delicate subject, and it can be difficult to talk about it with your parents. • He thanked me for the way in which this delicate matter had been handled.
COLLOCATIONS CHECK
difficult
question/decision/situation/problem etc
hard
question/decision/test
tough
question/decision/job/game/race
tricky
question/situation/position/moment
awkward
question/situation/position/moment
challenging
job
demanding
work/schedule/course
daunting
task/challenge/prospect
delicate
subject/matter/issue
Longman-Thesaurus
2
general::
adj. VERBS be, look, prove, seem, sound | become, get It is getting more and more difficult to find a job. | make sth The fog made driving very difficult. | find sth ADV. exceedingly, extraordinarily, extremely, incredibly, particularly, really, very | doubly Her disability made taking care of the home and raising a family doubly difficult. | increasingly | a bit, quite, rather | notoriously Birth rates are notoriously difficult to predict.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary