frequently_asked_questions_files/Oxford Thesaurus.pdf

how to differentiate one species from another. 2 modify,
specialize, change, alter, transform, transmute, convert, adapt,
adjust: All organisms possess the power to differentiate
special organs to meet special needs.
difficult adj. 1 hard, arduous, toilsome, strenuous, tough, laborious,
burdensome, onerous, demanding: He found it difficult to work
the longer hours. The first birth is sometimes difficult. 2
puzzling, perplexing, baffling, enigmatic(al), profound,
abstruse, obscure, recondite, complex; thorny, intricate,
sensitive, knotty, problematic(al), ticklish, scabrous: Some of
the questions in the exam were very difficult. The analyst
raised a lot of difficult issues which I had to confront. 3
intractable, recalcitrant, obstructive, stubborn, unmanageable,
obstinate, contrary, unaccommodating, refractory, unyielding,
uncompromising; naughty, ill-behaved; Colloq Brit bloody-minded:
Tessa has three difficult teenagers in the house these days. 4
troubled, troubling, tough, burdensome, onerous, demanding,
trying, hard, grim, dark, unfavourable, straitening: We have
been through some difficult times together. 5 fussy,
particular, demanding, finicky, finical, fastidious, critical,
troublesome, difficile, awkward, Colloq nit-picking: I'll go
wherever you like; I don't want to be difficult about it. Sharon
can be a very difficult person to be with.
difficulty
n. 1 strain, hardship, arduousness, laboriousness,
formidableness, tribulation, painfulness: Despite much
difficulty she succeeded. 2 hardship, obstacle, problem,
distress, pitfall, dilemma, predicament, problem, snag,
hindrance; Gordian knot: He has encountered difficulties during
his career. 3 Often, difficulties. embarrassment, plight,
predicament, mess, strait(s), trouble, scrape, Colloq hot water,
jam, pickle, fix; hot potato: She always seems to be in
financial difficulties.
diffuse adj. 1 spread (out or about or around), scattered, dispersed,
widespread; sparse, meagre, thin (on the ground): A few diffuse
clouds could be seen on the horizon. 2 wordy, verbose, prolix,
long-winded, loquacious, discursive, digressive, rambling,
circumlocutory, meandering, roundabout, circuitous,
periphrastic, ambagious, diffusive, pleonastic: The style of
the book is very diffuse, being extravagantly uneconomic of