difficile

The customer is a very difficile person to please.

Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Hard to please or satisfy: "difficile" describes a person who is demanding, fussy, or difficult to satisfy, especially in matters of taste, opinion, or personal preference.
   • Hard to persuade or convince: It can also refer to someone who is resistant to being convinced or influenced.

Usage Examples

• (She is hard to please.)
• (He is demanding and strict about details.)
• (He was hard to persuade.)

Advanced Usage

• "to be in a difficile mood": to be in a state where one is particularly hard to please.

  • The child was in a difficile mood today, refusing all toys. (He was being unusually fussy.)

• "a difficile customer": a person who is very hard to satisfy in a service or business context.

  • The restaurant staff dreaded serving the difficile customer who sent back every dish. (A demanding patron.)

Variants and Related Words

• Difficult (adj): the more common, standard spelling and synonym for "difficile"; meaning hard to do, understand, or deal with.

  • The exam was very difficult. (Hard to complete.)

• Difficilety (n): a rare or obsolete noun form meaning the quality of being hard to please.

  • Her difficilety made her a challenging colleague. (Her demanding nature.)

Synonyms

• Fussy: excessively particular about details.
• Fastidious: very attentive to detail and difficult to satisfy.
• Exacting: making great demands on someone.

Phrasal Verbs

Related Idioms

• Hard to please: a common idiom meaning the same as "difficile."

  • He is hard to please when it comes to gifts. (He is difficil.)

• A tough nut to crack: someone who is difficult to persuade or deal with.

  • That manager is a tough nut to crack; she never agrees to new ideas. (She is difficil.)