difficulty
Americannoun
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difficulties
plural
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the fact or condition of being difficult.
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Often difficulties. an embarrassing situation, especially of financial affairs.
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a trouble or struggle.
- Synonyms:
- problem
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a cause of trouble, struggle, or embarrassment.
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a disagreement or dispute.
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reluctance; unwillingness.
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a demur; objection.
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something that is hard to do, understand, or surmount; an impediment or obstacle.
noun
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the state or quality of being difficult
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a task, problem, etc, that is hard to deal with
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(often plural) a troublesome or embarrassing situation, esp a financial one
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a dispute or disagreement
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(often plural) an objection or obstacle
he always makes difficulties
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a trouble or source of trouble; worry
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lack of ease; awkwardness
he could run only with difficulty
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of difficulty
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English difficulte, from Anglo-French, from Latin difficultās, equivalent to difficil(is) difficile + -tās -ty 2
Explanation
A difficulty is anything that gives you a hard or difficult time. If you eat a lot of chips and dip before dinner, you may have some difficulty finishing your meal. A difficulty is anything that causes problems. Forgetting an answer during a test could be a difficulty. A broken leg is a more painful difficulty. A poor economy is a difficulty, and losing your job is a more personal difficulty. A difficulty is also anything that’s not easy to do, like becoming a doctor or lifting a huge weight. Difficulties are generally serious or hard to overcome. If you’re having difficulty, you’re having troubles.
Vocabulary lists containing difficulty
Messenger
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Spelling Practice, Unit 5
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Predicament, List 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Consider that just one more illustration of the difficulty of stock picking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
The difficulty is that large, luminous stars dominate the light, while smaller stars are far dimmer and much harder to identify.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
The community in Shoreham, West Sussex, has paid its respects to a family who died after getting into difficulty in the sea on Tuesday.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
Despite threats of a billionaire exodus and consistent complaints about the difficulty of doing business in California, it attracted three times more venture funding this year than every other state combined.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
The young man had been the first admirer, but she trusted there was no other hold, and that there would be no serious difficulty, on Harriet’s side, to oppose any friendly arrangement of her own.
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
IG Metall union leader Christiane Benner in a radio interview acknowledged the difficulties brought by China and US tariffs but advocated cost-cutting measures other than job cuts.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
Dodgers president Stan Kasten says the team is not going to be sold amid financial difficulties of majority owner Mark Walter’s companies and a federal inquiry into his insurance empire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
Soon afterwards, Have A Nice Stay said it would close at the end of August, citing economic difficulties and unpredictable "red lines" over what material was considered problematic.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
It was only when she came across the aquatic-rescue training resource titled “Open Water Lifesaving” that she felt her difficulties were recognized.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
She tried not to think of what was at stake, but it was overwhelming as her mind flooded with thoughts of people in danger and her difficulties during training.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
