- 1difficult in an interesting way that tests your ability challenging work/questions/problems a challenging and rewarding career as a teacher Thesaurusdifficult
- hard
- challenging
- demanding
- taxing
- difficult not easy; needing effort or skill to do or understand:The test questions were extremely difficult. It is difficult for young people to find jobs around here.
- hard not easy; needing effort or skill to do or understand:Teaching high school students is hard work. It was one of the hardest things I ever did.
- Hard is slightly less formal than difficult. It is used particularly in the structure hard to believe/say/find/take, etc., although difficult can also be used in any of these examples.
- challenging (approving) difficult in an interesting way that tests your ability
- demanding difficult to do or deal with and needing a lot of effort, skill, or patience:It is a technically demanding piece of music to play.
- taxing difficult to do and needing a lot of mental or physical effort:The work can be very physically and mentally taxing.
- difficult/hard/challenging/demanding/taxing for somebody
- difficult/hard to do something
- physically difficult/hard/challenging/demanding/taxing
- technically difficult/challenging/demanding
- mentally/intellectually challenging/demanding/taxing
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
- 2done in a way that invites people to disagree or argue with you, or shows that you disagree with them She gave him a challenging look. “Are you really sure?” she demanded.
Check pronunciation: challenging