dilemma · conundrum · brainteaser · tricky · hard · thorny · knotty · perplexing · baffling · interrogation · quiz · exam · interview · awkward · uncomfortable · squirm · pause · silence
IDEA.org / Words / tough question
Related — difficult (Requiring much effort); challenging (Hard to accomplish); stumper (Unanswerable question); puzzle · riddle · dilemma · conundrum · brainteaser · tricky · hard · thorny · knotty · perplexing
difficultytough question ≠ no-brainer Self-evident decision; gimme · piece of cake
emotional/social challengetough question ≠ leading question Question implying its answer
emotional/interpersonal easetough question ≠ small talk Polite trivial conversation; pleasantry
Word data: Linguabase (CC0) · www.idea.org/words/tough_question