1. painful; difficult; tough; hard
2. distressing; (psychologically) difficult; stressful; awkward (e.g. position)
3. straitened (circumstances); tight (financial situation); needy; struggling
4. strained (interpretation, explanation, etc.); lame (e.g. excuse); forced (e.g. smile); far-fetched
5. hard to do; unpleasant
after -masu stem of verb; often ぐるしい