SKIP TO CONTENT

difficulté

Definitions of difficulté
  1. noun
    an event causing distress or pain
    see moresee less
    types:
    malchance
    unnecessary and unforeseen trouble resulting from an unfortunate event
    catastrophe, malheur
    a cause of great suffering and distress
    scandale
    a disgraceful event
    bruit, dérangement, dérèglement, perturbation, vacarme, émoi
    electrical or acoustic activity that can disturb communication
    martyre
    any experience that causes intense suffering
    accident, incident
    an instance of misfortune
    catastrophe, drame, malheur
    an event resulting in great loss and misfortune
    malchance, mésaventure
    a stroke of ill fortune; a calamitous event
    affliction, châtiment, épreuve
    an annoying or frustrating or catastrophic event
    malédiction, supplice
    a severe affliction
    attaque, attention, crise
    a sudden occurrence of an uncontrollable condition
    fléau
    something causing misery or death
    type of:
    happening, événement
    an event that happens
  2. noun
    a factor causing trouble in achieving a positive result or tending to produce a negative result
    see moresee less
    types:
    ennuis, problème
    a source of difficulty
    entrave
    something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress
    problème
    a problem
    entrave, obstacle
    something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted
    type of:
    facteur
    something immaterial (as a circumstance or influence) that contributes to producing a result
  3. noun
    a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome
    synonyms: problème
    see moresee less
    types:
    situation embarrassante
    a situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one
    embrouille
    informal terms for a difficult situation
    stress
    difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension
    problème
    a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved
    souci
    a cause for feeling concern
    crise
    an unstable situation of extreme danger or difficulty
    cauchemar
    a situation resembling a terrifying dream
    mauvaise passe
    a bad or difficult situation or state of affairs
    impasse, point mort
    a situation in which no progress can be made or no advancement is possible
    type of:
    condition, statut, état
    a state at a particular time
  4. noun
    a situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one
    see moresee less
    types:
    souci
    a cause for feeling concern
    type of:
    problème
    a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome
  5. noun
    the quality of being difficult
    see moresee less
    types:
    dureté, sévérité
    something hard to endure
    désagrément
    a difficulty that causes anxiety
    maladresse
    trouble in carrying or managing caused by bulk or shape
    type of:
    caractéristique, propriété
    an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone
  6. noun
    an effort that is inconvenient
    synonyms: problème
    see moresee less
    type of:
    effort
    use of physical or mental energy; hard work
Cite this entry
Style:
MLA
  • MLA
  • APA
  • Chicago

Copy citation
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘difficulté'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Word Family