Distinguish the words: thorny, testing, uphill, steep

[con ong vang]

could you help me distinguish the following words:
1.thorny
2.testing
3.uphill
4.steep
Thanks!

[Jamie (K)]

[con ong vang]

1.Thorny:(before noun):causing difficulty or disagreement
2.Testing :difficult to deal with and needing particular strength or abitility
3.Uphill:An argument or strugle that is difficult to win and takes a lot of effort over a long period of time
But I can't decide which word is suitable for this sentence:
With so many games to pllay in such a shotr time, it's going to be a very........................time for the team
1.thorny
2.testing
3uphill
4steep

[Skrej]

Hi Con,

The sense of the sentence is that the team is going to have a difficult time because they have to play so many games in a short time.

Since it's a short time, you can rule out #3. Also, usually we'd say 'an uphill battle/struggle' instead of 'an uphill time'

Steep refers to a sharp or drastic increase in something, such as a steep increase in something, or it can mean very high, as in 'steep prices'. So a 'steep time' doesn't really make sense.

That leaves 'thorny', or 'testing'.

In my opinion, 'thorny' has more of a feel of difficult in an emotional or mental capacity, such as a thorny moral dilemma, which is more along the lines of the 2nd part of that definition "causing disagreement"

'Testing' fits best, because to play a bunch of games in a short time is a test of the team's ability.

Hope that helps.

[Jamie (K)]

Con, just look at the BASIC meanings of these words, and you'll understand the difference. "Thorny", "uphill" and "steep" are all metaphorical in this usage.

The literal meaning of thorny is that something has thorns, as does a rose bush. So a thorny problem would be one in which you can easily get stabbed by some complication.

The basic meaning of "uphill" is going up a hill. If solving a problem is an uphill battle, it means it requires extra exertion to reach the solution, just like walking up a hill.

The basic meaning of "steep" is for a hill, mountain or staircase to go up at a sharp, quick angle. So if a problem is steep, it's the same as saying "uphill", except that it requires even more effort -- a huge amount of effort.