difficulty

American  

[dif-i-kuhl-tee] / ˈdɪf ɪˌkʌl ti /

noun

difficulties plural

1. the fact or condition of being difficult.

2. Often difficulties. an embarrassing situation, especially of financial affairs.

   Synonyms:

   strait, exigency, fix, plight, quandary, predicament, dilemma

3. a trouble or struggle.

   Synonyms:

   problem

4. a cause of trouble, struggle, or embarrassment.

5. a disagreement or dispute.

6. reluctance; unwillingness.

7. a demur; objection.

8. something that is hard to do, understand, or surmount; an impediment or obstacle.

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difficulty British  

/ ˈdɪfɪkəltɪ /

noun

1. the state or quality of being difficult

2. a task, problem, etc, that is hard to deal with

3. (often plural) a troublesome or embarrassing situation, esp a financial one

4. a dispute or disagreement

5. (often plural) an objection or obstacle

   he always makes difficulties

6. a trouble or source of trouble; worry

7. lack of ease; awkwardness

   he could run only with difficulty

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• predifficulty
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• difficulties
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

difficulty difficulties

After three replacement surgeries, she said, "I assumed my difficulty walking was simply an unfortunate and rather ironic part of the recovery process."

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

A man is in a critical condition in hospital after three people got into difficulty in the water near an Essex pier.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

Lofty stock markets and easy borrowing conditions for companies suggest the economy could absorb higher rates without much difficulty.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

When they escaped into the wild, which they seem to have done with not too much difficulty, they didn’t just run.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

The real difficulty was that Hamilton’s plan was very much a projection of his own audacious personality.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis

If we are “Five-Star”-fortunate, we can hire assistance to handle the inevitable difficulties associated with this time of life, whether that means groundskeepers or divorce lawyers.

From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026

Where difficulties will arise is in the sectors where the cheap-money era is most embedded: private equity and private credit.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

Yu also says its ADR offering appears aimed at improving its valuation rather than meeting an urgent funding need, with the company unlikely to face difficulties financing its investments through cash flow.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

However, only around 5,000 people a year will be eligible - based on the extent of their walking difficulties.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

This led them into a discussion about all the difficulties they’d each had working on the charrette.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

Related Words

• anxiety
• complication
• crisis
• embarrassment
• frustration
• inconvenience
• misery
• predicament
• pressure
• setback
• stress
• strife
• struggle
• trouble
• worry