grappling with a severe challenge Synonym

adversity, difficulty, suffering, distress, trouble, misfortune, affliction, trial, tribulation, burden, struggle, challenge, ordeal, woe, privation, deprivation, discomfort, pain, inconvenience, obstacle, hindrance, setback, calamity, catastrophe, disaster, plight, predicament, quandary, dilemma, misery, torment, anguish, grief, sorrow, wretchedness, desolation, despondency, despair, hardship [x]

unfathomable, unintelligible, inscrutable, perplexing, baffling, bewildering, enigmatic, obscure, unclear, puzzling, mysterious, impenetrable, indecipherable, inexplicable, opaque, cryptic, confusing, arcane, abstruse, recondite, esoteric, mystifying, ungraspable, unexplainable, unaccountable, ununderstandable, unthinkable, inconceivable [x]

obstacles, hindrances, impediments, difficulties, challenges, hurdles, barriers, delays, drawbacks, complications, issues, problems, snags, interruptions, disruptions, reversals, misfortunes, adversities, troubles, pitfalls, stumbling blocks, roadblocks, detours, glitches, slowdowns, stoppages, obstructions, encumbrances, inconveniences, frustrations, defeats, failures, missteps, mishaps, blunders, errors, mistakes, lapses, slips, collapses, breakdowns, regressions, declines, downturns, slumps, demotions, degradations, demises, downfalls [x]

stubbornness, obstinacy, obduracy, inflexibility, rigidity, unmanageability, recalcitrance, willfulness, intransigence, immovability, mulishness, pertinacity, tenacity, doggedness, headstrongness, pigheadedness, indomitability, unyieldingness, adamance, resoluteness, determination, steadfastness, persistence, perseverance, relentlessness, inexorability, implacability, uncooperativeness, defiance, resistance, opposition, contrariness, perverseness, unruliness, disobedience, insubordination, rebelliousness, recalcitrancy, obstinateness, hardheadedness, bullheadedness, diehardness, unbendingness, unrelentingness, unshakeability, immovableness, inexorableness, implacableness [x]

block, hinder, impede, obstruct, thwart, frustrate, stall, prevent, hamper, foil, stop, check, curb, restrain, balk, stonewall, hold back, stifle, derail, counteract, forestall, preclude, arrest, deter, baffle, confound, perplex, puzzle, bewilder, mystify, nonplus, disconcert, unsettle [x]

issues, difficulties, challenges, troubles, obstacles, complications, concerns, dilemmas, predicaments, setbacks, hitches, snags, quandaries, crises, adversities, hardships, tribulations, glitches, impediments, nuisances, worries, annoyances, grievances, plights, perplexities, conundrums, inconveniences, stumbling blocks, vexations, afflictions, misfortunes, headaches, trials, woes, struggles, hindrances, barriers, encumbrances, burdens [x]

discouragement, disincentive, hindrance, obstacle, impediment, restraint, curb, check, preventative, preventive, inhibition, constraint, obstruction, barrier, damper, brake, countermeasure, safeguard, warning, caution, deterrence, discourager, deterrent measure, deterrent factor, deterrent force, deterrent effect, deterrent action, deterrent policy, deterrent strategy, deterrent system, deterrent mechanism, deterrent approach, deterrent principle, deterrent theory, deterrent practice, deterrent method, deterrent technique, deterrent tool, deterrent device, deterrent instrument, deterrent solution, deterrent plan, deterrent program, deterrent initiative, deterrent effort, deterrent campaign, deterrent operation, deterrent procedure [x]

struggling, stumbling, faltering, flailing, wavering, tottering, blundering, fumbling, thrashing, wallowing, foundering, bungling, lurching, reeling, staggering, teetering, misstepping, grappling, battling, striving, laboring, toiling, muddling, bumbling, groping, hesitating, vacillating [x]

fighting, struggling, contending, grappling, wrestling, clashing, combating, skirmishing, sparring, tussling, warring,eling, scrapping, scuffling, engaging, confronting, opposing, vying, competing, striving, resisting, countering, assailing, attacking, defending, challenging, jousting, brawling, slugging, wrangling, feuding, quarreling, disputing, contesting, locking horns, going head-to-head, crossing swords, engaging in combat, engaging in battle, engaging in a fight, engaging in a struggle, engaging in a skirmish, engaging in a clash, engaging in a duel, engaging in a brawl, engaging in a scuffle, engaging in a tussle, engaging in a war, engaging in a conflict [x]

struggling-with-obstacles, facing-difficulties, dealing-with-problems, tackling-issues, contending-with-hurdles, wrestling-with-dilemmas, battling-adversities, confronting-challenges, managing-complications, handling-difficulties, coping-with-troubles, navigating-obstacles, overcoming-barriers, addressing-issues, fighting-against-problems, enduring-struggles, grappling-with-issues, striving-against-difficulties, combating-challenges, wrestling-with-problems [x]

be-in-a-bind, be-in-a-jam, be-in-trouble, be-in-a-pickle, be-in-a-fix, be-in-a-quandary, be-in-a-dilemma, be-in-a-predicament, be-in-hot-water, be-in-a-tight-corner, be-in-a-mess, be-in-a-scrape, be-in-a-spot, be-in-a-tight-situation, be-in-a-difficult-situation, be-in-a-tough-spot, be-in-a-tough-situation, be-in-a-sticky-situation [x]

conflicts, skirmishes, engagements, clashes, combats, fights, struggles, confrontations, wars, hostilities, encounters, frays, duels, contests [x]

be-in-a-tight-spot, be-in-a-bind, be-in-a-jam, be-in-a-pickle, be-in-trouble, be-in-a-dilemma, be-in-a-quandary, be-in-a-predicament, be-in-a-mess, be-in-hot-water, be-in-a-tight-corner, be-in-a-tight-situation, be-in-a-difficult-situation, be-in-a-sticky-situation, be-in-a-fix, be-in-a-scrape, be-in-a-spot-of-bother [x]

in-a-bind, in-a-jam, in-a-pickle, in-a-tight-spot, in-trouble, in-a-dilemma, in-a-fix, in-a-quandary, in-a-predicament, in-a-tight-corner, in-a-mess, in-a-scrape, in-a-spot, in-a-tight-situation, in-a-difficult-position, in-a-hard-place, in-a-tight-jam, in-a-bind-up, in-a-tight-bind, in-a-tight-pinch, in-a-tight-predicament, in-a-tight-quandary, in-a-tight-fix, in-a-tight-dilemma, in-a-tight-scrape, in-a-tight-mess, in-a-tight-position, in-a-tight-hard-place [x]

fights, scuffles, skirmishes, tussles, altercations, clashes, frays, melees, rumbles, scraps, combats, confrontations, disputes, rows, wrangles, quarrels, squabbles, bickers, tiffs, spats, set-tos, donnybrooks, fracases, uproars, affrays, battles, engagements, encounters, hostilities, struggles, contests, conflicts, brawls, feuds, ruckuses, ructions, commotions, disturbances, frictions, arguments, wranglings, disagreements, contentions, controversies [x]