Difficult vs. Hard: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 25, 2023
"Difficult" often implies complexity or a challenge in accomplishment, while "Hard" can mean physically tough or demanding effort and resilience.
Key Differences
"Difficult" typically refers to something that requires a lot of effort or skill to do, understand, or deal with, often implying complexity or subtlety in the challenge. "Hard," on the other hand, can denote something that is physically tough or firm, as well as situations or tasks that are challenging or require resilience.
Shumaila Saeed
Nov 13, 2023
In the context of tasks or problems, "Difficult" suggests nuances and intricacies that make a solution or accomplishment challenging. It often involves intellectual or emotional challenges. "Hard" in similar contexts implies a more straightforward, but strenuous effort, often emphasizing the level of effort rather than the complexity.
Shumaila Saeed
Nov 13, 2023
"Difficult" is frequently used to describe abstract challenges, such as complex ideas or emotionally taxing situations. It conveys a sense of requiring careful thought or delicate handling. "Hard," in contrast, is often used in a more concrete sense, describing physical toughness or rigidity, as well as metaphorically to describe resilience or endurance.
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Nov 13, 2023
In education, a "Difficult" subject is one that might require deep understanding or advanced skills, whereas a "Hard" subject may demand a lot of study time, practice, or memorization. "Difficult" carries connotations of requiring a higher level of cognitive engagement.
Shumaila Saeed
Nov 13, 2023
Linguistically, "Difficult" can be used more broadly to describe a wide range of challenging scenarios, from personal relationships to technical tasks. "Hard," while also versatile, often comes with a more physical or effort-based connotation, also commonly used to describe material properties.
Shumaila Saeed
Nov 13, 2023
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Comparison Chart
Primary Meaning
Requiring effort or skill due to complexity or subtlety
Physically tough or demanding resilience
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Context of Use
Intellectual, emotional, or abstract challenges
Physical toughness, resilience, or effort-based tasks
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Nov 13, 2023
Connotation
Complexity, subtlety, cognitive engagement
Physicality, effort, endurance
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Nov 13, 2023
Examples in Education
Deep understanding, complex concepts
Time-consuming study, memorization
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Nov 13, 2023
Metaphorical Use
Challenging scenarios broadly
Physical or effort-based resilience
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Nov 13, 2023
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Difficult and Hard Definitions
Difficult
Hard to please or satisfy.
The critic is known to be difficult to impress.
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Nov 13, 2023
Hard
Requiring a lot of effort or endurance.
It was a hard day's work in the fields.
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Nov 13, 2023
Difficult
Requiring careful handling or consideration.
Negotiating the agreement was a difficult process.
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Nov 13, 2023
Hard
Strongly resistant to pressure or change.
The old policy was hard to change.
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Nov 13, 2023
Difficult
Hard to understand or deal with.
Quantum physics is a difficult subject for many.
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Hard
Resistant to pressure; not readily penetrated; firm or solid
A hard material.
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Oct 19, 2023
Difficult
Requiring much effort or skill to accomplish.
Solving the puzzle was a difficult task.
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Nov 13, 2023
Hard
Well protected from an attack, as by aerial bombardment
Bunkers and other hard targets.
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Oct 19, 2023
Difficult
Requiring considerable effort or skill; not easy to do or accomplish
"To entertain is far more difficult than to enlighten" (Anthony Burgess).
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Oct 19, 2023
Difficult
Not easy to endure; full of hardship or trouble; trying
Fell upon difficult times.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Performed with or marked by great diligence or energy
A project that required years of hard work.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Difficult to understand or impart
Physics was the hardest of my courses. Thermodynamics is a hard course to teach.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Proceeding or performing with force, vigor, or persistence; assiduous
A hard worker.
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Oct 19, 2023
Difficult
Hard, not easy, requiring much effort.
However, the difficult weather conditions will ensure Yunnan has plenty of freshwater. File:However, the difficult weather conditions will ensure Yunnan has plenty of freshwater.ogg
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Oct 19, 2023
Difficult
Hard to manage, uncooperative, troublesome.
Stop being difficult and eat your broccoli—you know it's good for you.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Lacking compassion or sympathy; callous
Became hard after years in prison.
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Oct 19, 2023
Difficult
Hard to do or to make; beset with difficulty; attended with labor, trouble, or pains; not easy; arduous.
There is not the strength or courage left me to venture into the wide, strange, and difficult world, alone.
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Oct 19, 2023
Difficult
Hard to manage or to please; not easily wrought upon; austere; stubborn; as, a difficult person.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Oppressive or unjust in nature or effect
Restrictions that were hard on welfare applicants.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Harsh or severe in effect or intention
I said some hard things that I regret.
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Oct 19, 2023
Difficult
Not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure;
A difficult task
Nesting places on the cliffs are difficult of access
Difficult times
A difficult child
Found himself in a difficult situation
Why is it so hard for you to keep a secret?
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Marked by stubborn refusal to compromise or yield; uncompromising
Drives a hard bargain.
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Oct 19, 2023
Difficult
Requiring much effort and trouble;
The mountain climb was long, steep, and difficult
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Difficult
Involving hardship or problems.
They went through a difficult time during the crisis.
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Nov 13, 2023
Hard
Causing damage or premature wear
Snow and ice are hard on a car's finish.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Free from illusion or sentimentality; practical or realistic
We need to take a hard look at the situation.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Using or based on data that are readily quantified or verified
The hard sciences.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Marked by sharp delineation or contrast
A hard line separating the two lists.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Being a turn in a specific direction at an angle more acute than other possible routes.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Written or printed rather than stored in electronic media
Sent the information by hard mail.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Containing dissolved salts that interfere with the lathering action of soap or other cleansing agents. Used of water.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
(Linguistics) Velar, as in c in cake or g in log, as opposed to palatal or soft.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Extremely or dangerously addictive. Used of certain illegal drugs, such as heroin.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
With strenuous effort; intently
Worked hard all day.
Stared hard at the accused criminal.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
In such a way as to cause great damage or hardship
Industrial cities hit hard by unemployment.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Near in space or time; close
The factory stands hard by the railroad tracks.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
(of material or fluid) Having a severe property; presenting difficulty.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Resistant to pressure.
This bread is so stale and hard, I can barely cut it.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
(of a normally nonalcoholic drink) Containing alcohol.
Hard cider, hard lemonade, hard seltzer, hard soda
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
(of water) High in dissolved chemical salts, especially those of calcium.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Having the capability of being a permanent magnet by being a material with high magnetic coercivity (compare soft).
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Difficult or requiring a lot of effort to do, understand, experience, or deal with.
A hard problem;
A hard question;
A hard topic
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Severe, harsh, unfriendly, brutal.
A hard master;
A hard heart;
Hard words;
A hard character
The senator asked the party chief to put the hard word on his potential rivals.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
(of a road intersection) Having a comparatively larger or a ninety-degree angle.
At the intersection, there are two roads going to the left. Take the hard left.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Sexually aroused; having an erect penis.
I got so hard watching two hot girls wrestle each other on the beach.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
(bodybuilding) Having muscles that are tightened as a result of intense, regular exercise.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Rigid in the drawing or distribution of the figures; formal; lacking grace of composition.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
In a physical form, not digital.
A soft or hard copy; a digital or hard archive
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Using a manual or physical process, not by means of a software command.
A hard reboot or reset
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
(finance) Of a market: having more demand than supply; being a seller's market.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
(manner) With much force or effort.
He hit the puck hard up the ice.
They worked hard all week.
At the intersection, bear hard left.
The recession hit them especially hard.
Think hard about your choices.
The couple were fucking each other hard.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
A firm or paved beach or slope convenient for hauling vessels out of the water.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
A tyre whose compound is softer than superhards, and harder than mediums.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Not easily penetrated, cut, or separated into parts; not yielding to pressure; firm; solid; compact; - applied to material bodies, and opposed to soft; as, hard wood; hard flesh; a hard apple.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Difficult, mentally or judicially; not easily apprehended, decided, or resolved; as a hard problem.
The hard causes they brought unto Moses.
In which are some things hard to be understood.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Difficult to accomplish; full of obstacles; laborious; fatiguing; arduous; as, a hard task; a disease hard to cure.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Difficult to resist or control; powerful.
The stag was too hard for the horse.
A power which will be always too hard for them.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Difficult to bear or endure; not easy to put up with or consent to; hence, severe; rigorous; oppressive; distressing; unjust; grasping; as, a hard lot; hard times; hard fare; a hard winter; hard conditions or terms.
I never could drive a hard bargain.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Difficult to please or influence; stern; unyielding; obdurate; unsympathetic; unfeeling; cruel; as, a hard master; a hard heart; hard words; a hard character.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Not easy or agreeable to the taste; harsh; stiff; rigid; ungraceful; repelling; as, a hard style.
Figures harder than even the marble itself.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Abrupt or explosive in utterance; not aspirated, sibilated, or pronounced with a gradual change of the organs from one position to another; - said of certain consonants, as c in came, and g in go, as distinguished from the same letters in center, general, etc.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Rigid in the drawing or distribution of the figures; formal; lacking grace of composition.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
With pressure; with urgency; hence, diligently; earnestly.
And prayed so hard for mercy from the prince.
My fatherIs hard at study; pray now, rest yourself.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
With tension or strain of the powers; violently; with force; tempestuously; vehemently; vigorously; energetically; as, to press, to blow, to rain hard; hence, rapidly; nimbly; as, to run hard.
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure;
A difficult task
Nesting places on the cliffs are difficult of access
Difficult times
A difficult child
Found himself in a difficult situation
Why is it so hard for you to keep a secret?
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Metaphorically hard;
A hard fate
Took a hard look
A hard bargainer
A hard climb
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Very strong or vigorous;
Strong winds
A hard left to the chin
A knockout punch
A severe blow
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Characterized by toilsome effort to the point of exhaustion; especially physical effort;
Worked their arduous way up the mining valley
A grueling campaign
Hard labor
Heavy work
Heavy going
Spent many laborious hours on the project
Set a punishing pace
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Of a drinker or drinking; indulging intemperately;
Does a lot of hard drinking
A heavy drinker
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
With effort or force or vigor;
The team played hard
Worked hard all day
Pressed hard on the lever
Hit the ball hard
Slammed the door hard
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Causing great damage or hardship;
Industries hit hard by the depression
She was severely affected by the bank's failure
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Very near or close in space or time;
It stands hard by the railroad tracks
They were hard on his heels
A strike followed hard upon the plant's opening
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
To the full extent possible; all the way;
Hard alee
The ship went hard astern
Swung the wheel hard left
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Oct 19, 2023
Hard
Solid, firm, and rigid; not easily broken.
The sculpture was made of hard stone.
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Nov 13, 2023
Repeatedly Asked Queries
Can "difficult" describe physical tasks?
Yes, if they require skill or are complex.
Shumaila Saeed
Nov 13, 2023
Can a person be described as "difficult"?
Yes, if they are hard to understand or deal with.
Shumaila Saeed
Nov 13, 2023
Is "hard" used in a positive or negative context when describing people?
It can be used in both positive (resilient, determined) and negative (stubborn, unyielding) contexts.
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Nov 13, 2023
Can "hard" also describe something that is solid and unyielding emotionally?
Yes, "hard" can describe emotional toughness or resilience.
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Nov 13, 2023
Can someone have a "hard" personality?
Yes, a "hard" personality may describe someone who is tough, unyielding, or unsympathetic.
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Nov 13, 2023
Is "hard" related to durability or toughness?
Yes, "hard" often implies durability or resistance to wear and tear.
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Nov 13, 2023
Is "hard" used for abstract concepts?
Less commonly; it's more for tangible challenges.
Shumaila Saeed
Nov 13, 2023
Is "difficult" often used in a negative context?
Not necessarily; it can simply imply that something requires extra effort or skill.
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Nov 13, 2023
What is the opposite of "difficult"?
The opposite of "difficult" is "easy" or "simple."
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Nov 13, 2023
Can "difficult" and "hard" be synonyms?
Yes, in some contexts they are interchangeable.
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Nov 13, 2023
Does "difficult" imply impossibility?
No, it implies a challenge but not impossibility.
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Nov 13, 2023
Can something be both "difficult" and "hard" at the same time?
Yes, a task can be both difficult (challenging) and hard (physically demanding) simultaneously.
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Nov 13, 2023
Can a decision or choice be considered "difficult"?
Yes, decisions that involve trade-offs or have significant consequences can be described as difficult.
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Nov 13, 2023
Can "difficult" tasks be accomplished with effort and perseverance?
Yes, many difficult tasks can be achieved with determination and hard work.
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Nov 13, 2023
Is "difficult" related to one's ability or knowledge?
Yes, something may be difficult for someone due to their skill level or knowledge.
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Nov 13, 2023
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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