difficulty
Americannoun
plural
difficulties-
the fact or condition of being difficult.
-
Often difficulties. an embarrassing situation, especially of financial affairs.
-
a trouble or struggle.
- Synonyms:
- problem
-
a cause of trouble, struggle, or embarrassment.
-
a disagreement or dispute.
-
reluctance; unwillingness.
-
a demur; objection.
-
something that is hard to do, understand, or surmount; an impediment or obstacle.
noun
-
the state or quality of being difficult
-
a task, problem, etc, that is hard to deal with
-
(often plural) a troublesome or embarrassing situation, esp a financial one
-
a dispute or disagreement
-
(often plural) an objection or obstacle
he always makes difficulties
-
a trouble or source of trouble; worry
-
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 • Apr. 1, 2026
“Something that I have been feeling since I was young is a sense of difficulty connecting in real life,” he says.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026
As many of the participants are older, there’s a shared concern for both the urgency and difficulty of their mission to live longer.
From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026
Paired with modern airborne methods, the old maps can help target and reduce the cost of subsurface mapping—especially due to the difficulty and expense of operating in modern-day Congo.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 28, 2026
His lungs were also bothering him and he was having difficulty breathing.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
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.
