difficulty
Americannoun
plural
difficulties-
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
- predifficulty noun
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
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.
"They are often dealing with a double burden -- excessive sleepiness during work hours and difficulty sleeping enough when they have the chance to rest."
From Science Daily
Sir Keir was using that phrase to describe both the general economic impact of the Iran conflict and the particular difficulties in getting the Strait of Hormuz open again.
From BBC
The outage is not the first time self-driving cars have faced technical difficulties.
From BBC
Symptoms can include muscle weakness, difficulty swallowing, breathing problems, seizures, and delayed mental development.
From Science Daily
For its fiscal fourth quarter, which runs through May, Nike expects sales to fall 2% to 4%, weighed down by weaker trends in its Converse segment and difficulties in China, whose economy has been shaky.
From MarketWatch
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.
