| No. | Item | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | adversarial | involving opposition or conflict |
| 2. | adversity | difficult or unlucky conditions |
| 3. | alarming | causing fear or concern |
| 4. | arduous | requiring great effort |
| 5. | awkward | uncomfortable or hard to manage |
| 6. | barrier | something preventing progress |
| 7. | bind | a difficult position |
| 8. | bleak | without much hope |
| 9. | brutal | extremely harsh or severe |
| 10. | bumpy | uneven and troublesome |
| 11. | burdensome | hard to carry or manage |
| 12. | cash-strapped | lacking enough money |
| 13. | challenging | testing your abilities |
| 14. | charged | full of strong tension |
| 15. | complex | not simple or straightforward |
| 16. | complicated | having many confusing parts |
| 17. | contentious | likely to cause argument |
| 18. | controversial | causing disagreement |
| 19. | critical | dangerously important or urgent |
| 20. | dangerous | likely to cause harm |
| 21. | daunting | seeming hard to face |
| 22. | demanding | requiring much effort |
| 23. | desperate | showing extreme need or difficulty |
| 24. | dicey | risky or uncertain |
| 25. | difficult | hard to deal with |
| 26. | dire | extremely serious or urgent |
| 27. | distressing | causing worry or sadness |
| 28. | emergency | a serious urgent situation |
| 29. | exasperating | extremely irritating |
| 30. | fix | a difficult situation |
| 31. | fragile | easily damaged or broken |
| 32. | fraught | filled with tension or danger |
| 33. | frustrating | causing annoyance and difficulty |
| 34. | grave | very serious or worrying |
| 35. | gridlock | a situation with no movement |
| 36. | grim | harsh and depressing |
| 37. | grueling | extremely tiring and difficult |
| 38. | hard | not easy to handle |
| 39. | hardship | severe difficulty or suffering |
| 40. | harrowing | deeply distressing and difficult |
| 41. | harsh | cruelly difficult or unpleasant |
| 42. | hopeless | seeming impossible to improve |
| 43. | hopelessly tangled | badly confused and stuck |
| 44. | hurdle | a problem to overcome |
| 45. | impasse | a deadlocked situation |
| 46. | impossible | unable to be done |
| 47. | insoluble | impossible to solve |
| 48. | intractable | hard to solve or control |
| 49. | jam | a difficult situation |
| 50. | loaded | full of difficult implications |
| 51. | logjam | a blockage causing delay |
| 52. | low point | a very bad period |
| 53. | maddening | extremely frustrating |
| 54. | messy | disordered and hard to resolve |
| 55. | minefield | a situation full of dangers |
| 56. | nasty | very unpleasant or difficult |
| 57. | nightmare | a very bad situation |
| 58. | obstacle | something blocking progress |
| 59. | oppressive | heavily burdensome or harsh |
| 60. | ordeal | a painful difficult experience |
| 61. | overwhelming | too much to manage |
| 62. | painful | causing emotional or physical hurt |
| 63. | perilous | full of danger |
| 64. | pickle | a troublesome situation |
| 65. | plight | a difficult sad situation |
| 66. | precarious | unstable and uncertain |
| 67. | predicament | a difficult unpleasant situation |
| 68. | pressure cooker | a highly tense situation |
| 69. | problematic | causing difficulties or concern |
| 70. | quandary | a state of uncertainty |
| 71. | risky | involving possible danger or loss |
| 72. | roadblock | something stopping progress |
| 73. | rocky | full of problems |
| 74. | rough | harsh or difficult |
| 75. | serious | important and worrying |
| 76. | severe | very serious or intense |
| 77. | shaky | weak and uncertain |
| 78. | spot | a difficult situation |
| 79. | stalemate | a standstill with no progress |
| 80. | sticky | difficult to get out of |
| 81. | strained | under pressure or tension |
| 82. | stressful | causing stress or pressure |
| 83. | taxing | draining and demanding |
| 84. | tense | full of strain or stress |
| 85. | thorny | full of difficulties |
| 86. | touch-and-go | uncertain and risky |
| 87. | tough | hard and demanding |
| 88. | tricky | requiring careful handling |
| 89. | troubling | causing concern or worry |
| 90. | trying | annoying and hard to endure |
| 91. | uncertain | not predictable or secure |
| 92. | unforgiving | allowing little room for error |
| 93. | unmanageable | too difficult to control |
| 94. | untenable | unable to be defended |
| 95. | unworkable | not practical or workable |
| 96. | upheaval | violent change or disruption |
| 97. | upsetting | causing emotional trouble |
| 98. | volatile | likely to change suddenly |
| 99. | vulnerable | open to harm or attack |
| 100. | worrying | causing anxiety |