difficulty
Other forms: difficulties
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.
Definitions of difficulty
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an effort that is inconvenient
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the quality of being difficult“they agreed about the difficulty of the climb”
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synonyms:
difficultness
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Antonyms:
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ease, easiness, simpleness, simplicity
freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort
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types:
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effortfulness
the quality of requiring deliberate effort
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asperity, grimness, hardship, rigor, rigorousness, rigour, rigourousness, severeness, severity
something hard to endure
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hardness, ruggedness
the quality of being difficult to do
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formidability, toughness
impressive difficulty
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burdensomeness, heaviness, onerousness, oppressiveness
unwelcome burdensome difficulty
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niceness, subtlety
the quality of being difficult to detect or analyze
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inconvenience, troublesomeness, worriment
a difficulty that causes anxiety
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arduousness, strenuousness
extreme effortfulness
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laboriousness, operoseness, toilsomeness
the quality of requiring extended effort
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sternness
the quality (as of scenery) being grim and gloomy and forbidding
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awkwardness, cumbersomeness, unwieldiness
trouble in carrying or managing caused by bulk or shape
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flea bite
a very minor inconvenience
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fly in the ointment
an inconvenience that detracts from the usefulness of something
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unwieldiness
the quality of being difficult to direct or control by reason of complexity
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type of:
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quality
an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone
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ease, easiness, simpleness, simplicity
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a factor causing trouble in achieving a positive result or tending to produce a negative result“serious difficulties were encountered in obtaining a pure reagent”
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types:
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problem, trouble
a source of difficulty
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facer
(a dated Briticism) a serious difficulty with which one is suddenly faced
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killer
a difficulty that is hard to deal with
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kink
a difficulty or flaw in a plan or operation
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pisser
a very disagreeable difficulty
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booby trap, pitfall
an unforeseen or unexpected or surprising difficulty
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snorter
something outstandingly difficult
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balk, baulk, check, deterrent, handicap, hinderance, hindrance, impediment
something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress
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wrinkle
a minor difficulty
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pressure point
where problems or difficulties are likely to occur
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can of worms
a source of unpredictable trouble and complexity
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deep water
serious trouble
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growing pains
problems that arise in enlarging an enterprise (especially in the early stages)
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hydra
trouble that cannot be overcome by a single effort because of its many aspects or its persistent and pervasive quality
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matter
a problem
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albatross, millstone
(figurative) something that hinders or handicaps
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bind
something that hinders as if with bonds
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diriment impediment
(canon law) an impediment that invalidates a marriage (such as the existence of a prior marriage)
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drag
something that slows or delays progress
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obstacle, obstruction
something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted
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straitjacket
anything immaterial that severely hinders or confines
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type of:
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cognitive factor
something immaterial (as a circumstance or influence) that contributes to producing a result
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a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome“grappling with financial difficulties”
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types:
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bitch
an unpleasant difficulty
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morass, plight, predicament, quagmire, quandary
a situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one
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rattrap
a difficult entangling situation
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pinch
a painful or straitened circumstance
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fix, hole, jam, kettle of fish, mess, muddle, pickle
informal terms for a difficult situation
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hard time, rough sledding
a difficulty that can be overcome with effort
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strain, stress
difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension
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mire
a difficulty or embarrassment that is hard to extricate yourself from
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job, problem
a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
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situation
a complex or critical or unusual difficulty
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urinary hesitancy
difficulty in beginning the flow of urine; associated with prostate enlargement in men and with narrowing of the urethral opening in women; may be caused by emotional stress in either men or women
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wall
a difficult or awkward situation
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care
a cause for feeling concern
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conflict of interest
a situation in which a public official's decisions are influenced by the official's personal interests
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crisis
an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty
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crunch
a critical situation that arises because of a shortage (as a shortage of time or money or resources)
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hornet's nest, hornets' nest
a highly contentious or hazardous situation
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hot potato
a difficult situation
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how-d'ye-do, how-do-you-do
an awkward situation
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embroilment, imbroglio
an intricate and confusing interpersonal or political situation
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Mexican standoff
a situation in which no one can emerge as a clear winner
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incubus, nightmare
an oppressive situation resembling a terrifying dream
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no-win situation
a situation in which a favorable outcome is impossible; you are bound to lose whatever you do
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pass, strait, straits
a bad or difficult situation or state of affairs
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purgatory
a temporary condition of torment or suffering
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swamp
a situation fraught with difficulties and imponderables
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ticking bomb, time bomb
a problematic situation that will eventually become dangerous if not addressed
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tinderbox
a dangerous state of affairs; a situation that is a potential source of violence
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urgency
an urgent situation calling for prompt action
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dead end, deadlock, impasse, stalemate, standstill
a situation in which no progress can be made or no advancement is possible
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box, corner
a predicament from which a skillful or graceful escape is impossible
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hot water
a dangerous or distressing predicament
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dog's breakfast, dog's dinner
a poor job; a mess
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race problem
a social and political problem caused by conflict between races occupying the same or adjacent regions
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balance-of-payments problem
an economic problem caused by payments for imports being greater than receipts for exports
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quicksand
a treacherous situation that tends to entrap and destroy
Pronunciation
US
/ˈdɪfəkəlti/
UK
/ˈdɪfɪkəlti/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘difficulty'.
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Word Family
Vocabulary lists containing difficulty
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