Synonyms and antonyms of Difficult situations and experiences in British Thesaurus

crisis (noun)

an urgent, difficult, or dangerous situation

battle (noun)

a situation in which someone is trying very hard to deal with a difficult situation

nightmare (noun)

an extremely difficult or frightening situation

ordeal (noun)

an extremely unpleasant experience, especially one that lasts for a long time

trouble (noun)

an unpleasant, difficult, or dangerous situation

hell (noun)

a situation that is extremely unpleasant

tragedy (noun)

a bad situation that makes people very upset or angry

quagmire (noun)

a situation that is so difficult or complicated that you cannot make much progress

worst-case scenario ()

a situation that is the worst one that you can imagine

stress (noun)

a situation that makes you feel stress

a bad/poor lookout (for) ()

a bad or unpleasant situation that is likely to happen to someone or something

a baptism of fire ()

a very difficult first period in a new job, activity, or situation

a bitter pill (to swallow) ()

an unpleasant fact or situation that is difficult to accept

a can of worms ()

a situation that involves a complicated set of problems that you discover when you start dealing with it

a fate worse than death ()

something very bad that could happen to you

a nasty business ()

a situation that is unpleasant or upsetting, especially one that is unfair or involves violence

a thin time ()

a difficult time, especially because there is not much money available

a tight corner/spot/situation ()

a difficult situation

bad hair day (noun)

informal a difficult day when nothing seems to go well for you

balls-up (noun)

Britishimpolite a mistake, or a difficult situation caused by mistakes that someone has made

bitch (noun)

very informal something difficult or unpleasant

bitter pill (noun)

an unpleasant fact or situation that is difficult to accept

black hole (noun)

informal a situation in which there is a lot of sadness and very little hope

carnage (noun)

mainly journalism a situation that is difficult or full of problems

catch-22 situation (noun)

a set of problems that is impossible to escape from because each problem must be solved first before you can solve any of the others

corner (noun)

a difficult situation that you cannot easily escape from

crunch (noun)

mainly Americaninformal a situation that is very difficult because you do not have enough of something, especially time or money

cul-de-sac (noun)

a situation in which you can make no more progress or from which you cannot escape

curse (noun)

an unpleasant situation or influence that continues for a long time

dead end (noun)

a situation in which no further progress is possible

deadlock (noun)

a situation in which neither person or group involved in a disagreement is willing to change their opinions or position

the depths of something ()

the most severe part of an unpleasant time, feeling, or situation

dilemma (noun)

a situation in which you have to make a difficult decision

discomfort (noun)

something that makes you feel slightly ill or uncomfortable

distress (noun)

an unpleasant and difficult situation caused by a lack of money, food, or other basic things

the doldrums (noun)

a situation in which there is a lack of success, activity, or improvement

double bind (noun)

a difficult situation in which you have two choices, but each one will have a bad result

double whammy (noun)

mainly journalism a set of two bad events or situations that have an effect at the same time

easy/rough ride ()

a period of time when you experience no problems/a lot of problems

entanglement (noun)

a complicated situation or relationship

fate (noun)

the things that happen to someone, especially unpleasant things

feast or famine ()

a situation in which there is either far too much of something or not nearly enough of it

fix (noun)

informal a difficult situation or a big problem

gridlock (noun)

a situation in which it is impossible to make progress

hardship (noun)

a situation in which life is very difficult, usually because you do not have enough money

hell on earth ()

an extremely unpleasant situation or place

horror (noun)

the horror of an experience is how unpleasant it is

horror story (noun)

informal an unpleasant experience

the hot seat (noun)

informal a difficult position in which you are responsible for decisions and problems that may make many people angry

imbroglio (noun)

formal a difficult, complicated, or embarrassing situation

impasse (noun)

a situation in which progress is not possible because none of the people involved are willing to change their opinion or decision

imposition (noun)

an unfair or unreasonable situation that you are expected to accept

information overload (noun)

a situation in which you get more information than you can deal with at one time and become tired and confused

jam (noun)

a difficult situation

jungle (noun)

a place or situation that is unpleasant because people are trying to achieve things for themselves and are not helping each other

(just) the tip of the iceberg ()

a problem or difficult situation that shows that a much more serious problem exists

knock (noun)

something bad or unpleasant that happens to someone

logjam (noun)

a situation in which one problem is stopping anything else from being done

low (noun)

a bad time in your life

mess (noun)

a difficult situation with a lot of problems, especially because people have made mistakes

mire (noun)

an unpleasant situation that you cannot easily escape from

misadventure (noun)

formal something bad that happens to you

misfortune (noun)

something harmful or unpleasant that happens to someone

night (noun)

literary a period of great sadness, failure etc

not a barrel of laughs ()

a very unpleasant experience or situation

no-win situation (noun)

a situation in which there is no chance of success

one of those days ()

a day when you seem to have a lot of problems

overcrowding (noun)

unpleasant conditions caused by too many people or things being in the same place

palaver (noun)

informal a situation that causes you a lot of unnecessary trouble or work

perfect storm (noun)

a very unpleasant situation in which several bad things happen at once

pit (noun)

mainly literary a state in which you have very strong unpleasant feelings or in which something bad is happening

plight (noun)

a sad, serious, or difficult situation

poetic justice (noun)

bad things that happen to someone and are deserved because of their bad behaviour

pressure cooker (noun)

informal a difficult situation in which people have to work very hard or experience a lot of strong emotions

purgatory (noun)

an unpleasant place or experience

rat race (noun)

an activity, job, or situation in which there is a lot of competition and people are too busy to relax or enjoy themselves

the rub (noun)

literary a problem, or a difficult situation

the school of hard knocks (noun)

the difficult experiences that happen in someone’s life and that influence the type of person they become

scrape (noun)

informal a difficult situation that someone causes by being careless

shitstorm (noun)

impolite a situation in which people are very angry or there are a lot of problems

slippery slope (noun)

a problem or situation that is getting worse and will become extremely bad unless it is stopped

spiral (noun)

a situation that gets worse and worse

spot (noun)

informal a difficult situation

stalemate (noun)

a situation in which progress is impossible because the people or groups involved cannot agree

suffering (noun)

mental or physical pain or problems

tangle (noun)

a situation that is difficult to deal with because things are not organized properly

tension (noun)

a situation in which opposing aims, ideas, or influences cause problems

test (noun)

a difficult situation that shows what qualities someone or something has

toils (noun)

literary a difficult or unpleasant situation that you cannot get away from

torment (noun)

severe physical or mental pain that someone suffers, often caused deliberately by someone else

trap (noun)

a bad or unpleasant situation that is difficult to change or escape from

travail (noun)

literary a very difficult situation, or a situation in which you must work very hard

treadmill (noun)

a situation that is very tiring or boring because you do the same things continuously

trial (noun)

a painful or difficult experience

trouble (noun)

a situation for which you are likely to be blamed, criticized, or punished

tsunami (noun)

a disastrous situation that cannot be controlled

victimhood (noun)

the situation of someone who is a victim, or who thinks that they have been unfairly treated

whammy (noun)

something very difficult or unpleasant that unexpectedly happens to someone. A double whammy is two bad things happening close together.

whirlpool (noun)

a situation in which you lose control of what is happening, usually in an unpleasant way

the worst of all/both worlds ()

used for saying that a person or situation has all the disadvantages that are possible