Difficult
Difficult adjective - Requiring considerable physical or mental effort.
Usage example: difficult questions on the exam that required analytical thinking
Tricky is a synonym for difficult in characteristic topic. In some cases you can use "Tricky" instead an adjective "Difficult", when it comes to topics like hard, complicated, intricate.
Nearby Word: difficulty
Tricky
Tricky adjective - Requiring exceptional skill or caution in performance or handling.
Usage example: a tricky musical passage for the woodwind section
Difficult is a synonym for tricky in characteristic topic. You can use "Difficult" instead an adjective "Tricky", if it concerns topics such as hard, complicated, intricate.
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
- Because of that, doing comedic (or at least Dramedy) soaps, such as Yo soy Betty, la fea and its Mexican spinoff La Fea Mas Bella, is tricky and difficult.
- Super Mario Sunshine has easy bosses like Gooper Blooper, but Phantamanta and Eely-Mouth can be tricky and difficult.
Source: Hard Levels, Easy Bosses - Nintendo Hard: The game gets increasingly more difficult as you progress, with some enemies and obstacles being rather tricky to kill or avoid.
Cite this Source
Tricky and Difficult. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/difficult/tricky
Difficult & Tricky. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/difficult/tricky>.
Tricky or Difficult. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/difficult/tricky.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "difficult" and "tricky" have occurred on timeline