Example sentences of "difficult to define " in BNC.

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1 It may be difficult to define a formal distinction between this and the page description formats described above , but a glance at the results makes the difference obvious .
2 Balance is difficult to define in simple terms and requires great sensitivity by journalists if it is to be achieved .
3 He nevertheless finds it difficult to define , because there is such a thin dividing line between paternalism and being a good corporate citizen .
4 An informal producer is always difficult to define but it is used here to describe an owner or an employee of a small-scale enterprise comprising less than ten people , operating from an impermanent site , under an ill-defined registration and tax scheme .
5 These units may be every bit as difficult to define and handle , conceptually at least , as the fleas themselves .
6 It 's a hard thing to talk about and difficult to define , but it is that essence that makes an event special , different from the rest , even from similar occasions in other years .
7 It is difficult to define an optimum level of cholesterol in the blood .
8 The ungainly term cultural reading alludes to a function which is notoriously difficult to define .
9 In practice it is often difficult to define bibliographical types in a way that gives a reliable guide to content , and the selector is best advised to look at each bibliography individually .
10 Either of these can hinder an interview in a way which may be difficult to define after the event .
11 The concept of stress or strain is difficult to define ( but see Gilleard , 1984 ) .
12 Hypertriglyceridaemia is more difficult to define ( Hulley et al , 1980 ) , but it is our practice to institute active treatment of fasting serum triglyceride levels consistently 5 mmol/l or above in diabetic subjects when we are confident it is not secondary hypertriglyceridaemia .
13 As has been found with regard to ‘ insider trading ’ , it is very difficult to define what is and what is not legitimate .
14 Criticisms of this approach have been documented by , for example , Lea and Young ( 1982 ) ; most of the rioters were not black ; some riots occurred in areas where there were very few black people ; most black people are British ; a ‘ British ’ culture seems elusively difficult to define ; and so on .
15 This is difficult to define satisfactorily , but in the context of brief therapy it involves the therapist suggesting to the patient the possible motivation underlying his behaviour , with the objective of increasing understanding as a step towards behaviour change ( e.g. overeating may be explained in terms of a patient 's need for comfort at times of loneliness so that the patient may be more able to tackle the problem ) .
16 The Wolf-Man thought he would n't have got far in that dismal profession , though success in economics , as in psychoanalysis , can be difficult to define .
17 The duties of the post are difficult to define but could be described as Keeper of the King 's household , Administrator of the Royal Affairs , and Keeper of the Privy Purse .
18 This has had much prominence in the Earth Mysteries field , but is somewhat difficult to define .
19 If it is difficult to define inner cities in terms of some geometric configuration of urban morphology , it is even less easy to identify the inner city within any national political economy .
20 The verb to love is difficult to define as it covers such a range of emotion .
21 Today , it is difficult to define a particular Hautvillers style : all have a good fruit content , and although some are perhaps lacking in definition , the finest attain great distinction , balancing high extract with a delicacy of flavour .
22 ‘ Her motive is difficult to define , ’ he added .
23 Offshore centres , even the landlocked ones like Luxembourg and coastal ones like Dublin and Gibraltar , are , like the elephant , difficult to define but easy to recognise .
24 That is something that is rather difficult to define in present-day Iran .
25 It concludes that the causes of the increase in exclusions are difficult to define .
26 Romanticism is notoriously difficult to define , and includes a host of diverse movements in art , literature , philosophy and science .
27 While it is comparatively easy to accept that in the primary years children have particular and specific qualities and that effective learning is most likely to take place in an environment which meets their intellectual , physical , social and emotional needs , it is much more difficult to define the components which make the learning environment effective .
28 The term ‘ poise ’ is difficult to define — it is the self-discipline that enables you to appear serenely dignified when your head is throbbing , your feet aching and you are confronted with an irate guest full of complaints .
29 Second , in a world of scientists who need to define and measure their subjects , power is , to say the least , difficult to define and even more difficult to measure .
30 The internal organization of the company does not provide an adequate safeguard against the power of the managers being used for their own ends ; and the imposition of fiduciary duties does not ensure that the discretion of the managers is only exercised either in accordance with the wishes of the shareholders or in accordance only with the expertise of the managers , since both these concepts prove impossibly difficult to define .
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