n. the quality of an embarrassing situation; "he sensed the awkwardness of his proposal"

adv. in a provocative manner; "`Try it,' he said provocatively"

adj. extremely irritating to the nerves; "nerve-racking noise"; "the stressful days before a war"; "a trying day at the office"

adj. unpleasantly harsh or grating in sound; "a gravelly voice"

adj. hard to endure; "fell upon trying times"

adj. causing or tending to cause anger or resentment; "a provoking delay at the airport"

adj. (used of physical stimuli) serving to stimulate or excite; "an irritative agent"

adj. causing irritation or annoyance; "tapping an annoying rhythm on his glass with his fork"; "aircraft noise is particularly bothersome near the airport"; "found it galling to have to ask permission"; "an irritating delay"; "nettlesome paperwork"; "a pesky mosquito"; "swarms of pestering gnats"; "a plaguey newfangled safety catch"; "a teasing and persistent thought annoyed him"; "a vexatious child"; "it is vexing to have to admit you are wrong"

adj. causing fear or dread or terror; "the awful war"; "an awful risk"; "dire news"; "a career or vengeance so direful that London was shocked"; "the dread presence of the headmaster"; "polio is no longer the dreaded disease it once was"; "a dreadful storm"; "a fearful howling"; "horrendous explosions shook the city"; "a terrible curse"

adj. spitefully sarcastic; "corrosive cristism"

adj. severe and unremitting in making demands; "an exacting instructor"; "a stern disciplinarian"; "strict standards"

adj. resulting in punishment; "the king imposed a punishing tax"

adj. requiring or showing effort; "heavy breathing"; "the subject made for labored reading"

adj. having an irregular outline; "text set with ragged right margins"; "herded the class into a ragged line"

adj. "took a hard look"

adj. hard to overcome or surmount: "a hard climb"; "a stiff hike"; "a stiff exam"; "an uphill battle against a popular incumbent"

adj. extremely painful

adj. causing an emotional disturbance; "his disconcerting habit of greeting friends ferociously and strangers charmingly"- Herb Caen; "an upsetting experience"

adj. marked by firm determination or resolution; not shakable; "firm convictions"; "a firm mouth"; "steadfast resolve"; "a man of unbendable perseverence"; "unwavering loyalty"

adj. having or caused by an irregular surface; "trees with rough bark"; "rough ground"; "rough skin"; "rough blankets"; "his unsmooth face"

adj. explained or answered; "mysteries solved and unsolved; problems resolved and unresolved"

adj. causing irritation or annoyance; "tapping an annoying rhythm on his glass with his fork"; "aircraft noise is particularly bothersome near the airport"; "found it galling to have to ask permission"; "an irritating delay"; "nettlesome paperwork"; "a pesky mosquito"; "swarms of pestering gnats"; "a plaguey newfangled safety catch"; "a teasing and persistent thought annoyed him"; "a vexatious child"; "it is vexing to have to admit you are wrong"

adj. deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or illness or emotion; "gruff voices"; "the dog's gruff barking"; "hoarse cries"; "makes all the instruments sound powerful but husky"- Virgil Thomson

adj. of colors that are bright and gaudy; "a shrill turquoise"

adj. unpleasantly loud and harsh

adj. requiring full use of your abilities or resources; "ambitious schedule"; "performed the most challenging task without a mistake"

adj. hard to deal with; especially causing pain or embarrassment; "awkward (or embarrassing or difficult) moments in the discussion"; "an awkward pause followed his remark"; "a sticky question"; "in the unenviable position of resorting to an act he had planned to save for the climax of the campaign"

adj. making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe; "a baffling problem"; "I faced the knotty problem of what to have for breakfast"; "a problematic situation at home"

adj. having concealed difficulty; "a catchy question"; "a tricky recipe to follow"

adj. bristling with perplexities; "the thorny question of states' rights"

adj. impressively difficult; "a tall order"

adj. difficult to deal with; "a troublesome infection"; "a troublesome situation"

adj. exasperatingly difficult to handle or circumvent; "a nasty problem"; "a good man to have on your side in a tight situation"

adj. very difficult; severely testing stamina or resolution; "a rugged competitive examination"; "the rugged conditions of frontier life"; "the competition was tough"; "it's a tough life"; "it was a tough job"

adj. causing difficulty in finding an answer or solution; much disputed; "the vexed issue of priorities"; "we live in vexed and troubled times"

adj. arousing to action or rebellion

adj. easy and not involved or complicated; "an elementary problem in statistics"; "elementary, my dear Watson"; "a simple game"; "found an uncomplicated solution to the problem"

adj. combining clever conception and facetious expression; "his sermons were unpredictably witty and satirical as well as eloquent"

adj. (of sound) relatively low in volume; "soft voices"; "soft music"

adj. having few parts; not complex or complicated or involved; "a simple problem"; "simple mechanisms"; "a simple design"; "a simple substance"