hard to please
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective 1. Difficult to satisfy or make content: Describes a person who has very high standards or is very particular, making it challenging for others to meet their expectations or gain their approval.
Usage
This adjective is used to describe a person's character or disposition. It is typically placed before a noun (attributive use) or after a linking verb like "be" or "find" (predicative use). It often implies that the person is critical, demanding, or fussy.
Examples
- Attributive use (before a noun):
- She is known as a hard-to-please critic whose reviews can make or break a restaurant.
- He was a hard-to-please teacher who expected perfection from every student.
- Predicative use (after a linking verb):
- My grandmother is hard to please when it comes to food; she prefers home-cooked meals.
- The client found the architect hard to please during the design process.
Advanced Usage
- "prove hard to please": To demonstrate through actions or reactions that one is difficult to satisfy.
- The new manager proved hard to please during her first project review.
- "find someone hard to please": To experience someone as being difficult to satisfy.
- The caterers found the event planner extremely hard to please.
Variants and Related Words
- Hard-to-please is a compound adjective. The hyphen is often used when it precedes a noun (e.g., a hard-to-please boss) but may be omitted in predicative position (e.g., The boss is hard to please).
- Demanding (adj.): Requiring much skill, effort, or attention. ()
- Fastidious (adj.): Very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail, or very concerned about cleanliness. ()
- Exacting (adj.): Making great demands on one's skill, attention, or other resources. ()
Synonyms
- Critical
- Fussy
- Finicky
- Particular
- Picky
- Discriminating
Antonyms
- Easygoing
- Undemanding
- Accommodating
- Easily pleased
- Uncritical
Adjective
- (of persons) "his father was a hard-to-please taskmaster"
- was very hard to please