dif·fi·cul·ty (d f -k l t , -k l-)n. pl. dif·fi·cul·ties 1. The condition or quality of being difficult: the difficulty of a task. 2. Something not easily done, accomplished, comprehended, or solved. 3. A troublesome or embarrassing state of affairs, especially of financial affairs. Often used in the plural. 4. A laborious effort; a struggle; trouble: had difficulty walking; completed the test with difficulty. 5. A disagreement or dispute. 6. Reluctance or an objection; unwillingness. [Middle English difficulte, from Old French dificulte, from Latin difficult  s, from difficilis, difficult : dis-, dis- + facilis, easy; see dh- in Indo-European roots.]Synonyms: difficulty, hardship, rigor, vicissitude These nouns denote something that requires great effort to overcome: grappling with financial difficulties; a life of hardship; undergoing the rigors of prison; withstood the vicissitudes of an army career. |
difficulty [ˈdɪfɪkəltɪ]
n pl -ties
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
[from Latin difficultās, from difficilis difficult, from dis- not + facilis easy, facile]
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Noun | 1. |  difficulty - an effort that is inconvenient; "I went to a lot of trouble"; "he won without any trouble"; "had difficulty walking"; "finished the test only with great difficulty"elbow grease, exertion, effort, travail, sweat - use of physical or mental energy; hard work; "he got an A for effort"; "they managed only with great exertion" the devil - something difficult or awkward to do or deal with; "it will be the devil to solve" tsuris - (Yiddish) aggravating trouble; "the frustrating tsuris he subjected himself to" |
| 2. | difficulty - 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" cognitive factor - something immaterial (as a circumstance or influence) that contributes to producing a result trouble, problem - a source of difficulty; "one trouble after another delayed the job"; "what's the problem?" facer - (a dated Briticism) a serious difficulty with which one is suddenly faced killer - a difficulty that is hard to deal with; "that exam was a real killer" kink - a difficulty or flaw in a plan or operation; "there are still a few kinks to iron out" pisser - a very disagreeable difficulty pitfall, booby trap - an unforeseen or unexpected or surprising difficulty snorter - something outstandingly difficult; "the problem was a real snorter" deterrent, hinderance, hindrance, impediment, balk, baulk, handicap, check - something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress wrinkle - a minor difficulty; "they finally have the wrinkles pretty well ironed out" | |
| 3. | difficulty - 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" condition, status - a state at a particular time; "a condition (or state) of disrepair"; "the current status of the arms negotiations" bitch - an unpleasant difficulty; "this problem is a real bitch" plight, predicament, quandary - a situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one; "finds himself in a most awkward predicament"; "the woeful plight of homeless people" rattrap - a difficult entangling situation pinch - a painful or straitened circumstance; "the pinch of the recession" kettle of fish, fix, jam, mess, muddle, pickle, hole - informal terms for a difficult situation; "he got into a terrible fix"; "he made a muddle of his marriage" hard time, rough sledding - a difficulty that can be overcome with effort; "we had a hard time getting here"; "analysts predicted rough sledding for handset makers" strain, stress - difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension; "she endured the stresses and strains of life"; "he presided over the economy during the period of the greatest stress and danger"- R.J.Samuelson mire - a difficulty or embarrassment that is hard to extricate yourself from; "the country is still trying to climb out of the mire left by its previous president"; "caught in the mire of poverty" problem, job - a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved; "she and her husband are having problems"; "it is always a job to contact him"; "urban problems such as traffic congestion and smog" situation - a complex or critical or unusual difficulty; "the dangerous situation developed suddenly"; "that's quite a situation"; "no human situation is simple" 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 wall - a difficult or awkward situation; "his back was to the wall"; "competition was pushing them to the wall" | |
| 4. | difficulty - the quality of being difficult; "they agreed about the difficulty of the climb" effortfulness - the quality of requiring deliberate effort asperity, rigor, rigorousness, rigourousness, severeness, severity, rigour, grimness, hardship - something hard to endure; "the asperity of northern winters" ruggedness, hardness - the quality of being difficult to do; "he assigned a series of problems of increasing hardness"; "the ruggedness of his exams caused half the class to fail" formidability, toughness - impressive difficulty subtlety, niceness - the quality of being difficult to detect or analyze; "you had to admire the subtlety of the distinctions he drew" quality - an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone; "the quality of mercy is not strained"--Shakespeare ease, easiness, simpleness, simplicity - freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort; "he rose through the ranks with apparent ease"; "they put it into containers for ease of transportation"; "the very easiness of the deed held her back" |
difficulty
noun
1. problem, trouble, obstacle, hurdle, dilemma, hazard, complication, hassle (informal), snag, uphill (S. African), predicament, pitfall, stumbling block, impediment, hindrance, tribulation, quandary, can of worms (informal), point at issue, disputed point There is only one difficulty. The hardest thing is to leave.
2. hardship, labour, pain, strain, awkwardness, painfulness, strenuousness, arduousness, laboriousness The injured man mounted his horse with difficulty.
3. complexity, involvement, complication, intricacy, hardness, convolution, difficultness, abstruseness questions arranged in no particular order of difficulty
in difficulty or difficulties in trouble, in distress, in hot water (informal), in a mess, in deep water, in a spot (informal), in a fix (informal), in a quandary, in a dilemma, in embarrassment, in a jam (informal), in dire straits, in a pickle (informal), in a tight spot, in perplexity, in a predicament rumours spread about banks being in difficulty
Quotations
"Difficulties are things that show what men are" [Epictetus Discourses]
"Difficulty gives all things their estimation" [Montaigne Essays]
"Difficulties are things that show what men are" [Epictetus Discourses]
"Difficulty gives all things their estimation" [Montaigne Essays]
Translations
difficulty [ˈdɪfɪkəltɪ] N
1. (= hardness) → dificultad f
to have difficulty (in) doing sth → tener dificultades para hacer algo, resultarle difícil a algn hacer algo
he has difficulty (in) walking → tiene dificultades para andar, le resulta difícil andar
I had no difficulty finding the house → no tuve problemas para encontrar la casa, no me resultó difícil encontrar la casa
with difficulty → con dificultad
with great difficulty → con gran dificultad
with the greatest difficulty → a duras penas
to have difficulty (in) doing sth → tener dificultades para hacer algo, resultarle difícil a algn hacer algo
he has difficulty (in) walking → tiene dificultades para andar, le resulta difícil andar
I had no difficulty finding the house → no tuve problemas para encontrar la casa, no me resultó difícil encontrar la casa
with difficulty → con dificultad
with great difficulty → con gran dificultad
with the greatest difficulty → a duras penas
2. (= problem) → problema m, dificultad f
to get into difficulty or difficulties [person] (gen) → meterse en problemas or apuros; (while swimming) → empezar a tener problemas; [ship] → empezar a peligrar
to have difficulties with sth → tener problemas con algo
to be in difficulties or difficulty → estar teniendo problemas
they are in financial difficulties → tienen problemas económicos, están pasando dificultades económicas
to make difficulties for sb → crear problemas a algn
see also learning, run into
to get into difficulty or difficulties [person] (gen) → meterse en problemas or apuros; (while swimming) → empezar a tener problemas; [ship] → empezar a peligrar
to have difficulties with sth → tener problemas con algo
to be in difficulties or difficulty → estar teniendo problemas
they are in financial difficulties → tienen problemas económicos, están pasando dificultades económicas
to make difficulties for sb → crear problemas a algn
see also learning, run into
difficulty [ˈdɪfɪkəlti] n
(= problem) → difficulté f
with difficulty → avec difficulté
He stood up with difficulty → Il se leva avec difficulté.
without difficulty → sans difficulté
to have difficulties with sth → avoir des ennuis avec qch, avoir des problèmes avec qch
to be in difficulty, to be in difficulties (= have problems) → avoir des difficultés, avoir des problèmes
to have difficulty doing sth → avoir du mal à faire qch
with difficulty → avec difficulté
He stood up with difficulty → Il se leva avec difficulté.
without difficulty → sans difficulté
to have difficulties with sth → avoir des ennuis avec qch, avoir des problèmes avec qch
to be in difficulty, to be in difficulties (= have problems) → avoir des difficultés, avoir des problèmes
to have difficulty doing sth → avoir du mal à faire qch
(= hardness) [question, task] → difficulté f
difficulty
n → Schwierigkeit f; with/without difficulty → mit/ohne Schwierigkeiten; he had difficulty (in) setting up in business → es fiel ihm schwer or nicht leicht, sich selbstständig zu machen; she had great difficulty (in) breathing → sie konnte kaum atmen; there was some difficulty (in) finding him → es war schwierig or nicht leicht, ihn zu finden; the difficulty is (in) choosing or to choose → die Wahl ist nicht leicht; they hadn’t appreciated the difficulty of finding somewhere to live → sie hatten nicht bedacht, wie schwierig es sein würde, eine Wohnung zu finden; in difficulty or difficulties → in Schwierigkeiten; to get into difficulties → in Schwierigkeiten geraten; to get out of difficulties → Schwierigkeiten überwinden
difficulty [ˈdɪfɪk/əltɪ] n → difficoltà f inv
he has difficulty in walking/breathing → ha difficoltà a camminare/di respirazione
to have difficulties with (police, landlord) → avere noie con
to get o.s. into difficulty → mettersi nei guai
to be in difficulty or difficulties → essere or trovarsi in difficoltà
to be in (financial) difficulties → avere delle difficoltà economiche
difficulty [ˈdɪfɪk/əltɪ] n → difficoltà f inv
he has difficulty in walking/breathing → ha difficoltà a camminare/di respirazione
to have difficulties with (police, landlord) → avere noie con
to get o.s. into difficulty → mettersi nei guai
to be in difficulty or difficulties → essere or trovarsi in difficoltà
to be in (financial) difficulties → avere delle difficoltà economiche
he has difficulty in walking/breathing → ha difficoltà a camminare/di respirazione
to have difficulties with (police, landlord) → avere noie con
to get o.s. into difficulty → mettersi nei guai
to be in difficulty or difficulties → essere or trovarsi in difficoltà
to be in (financial) difficulties → avere delle difficoltà economiche
difficulty [ˈdɪfɪk/əltɪ] n → difficoltà f inv
he has difficulty in walking/breathing → ha difficoltà a camminare/di respirazione
to have difficulties with (police, landlord) → avere noie con
to get o.s. into difficulty → mettersi nei guai
to be in difficulty or difficulties → essere or trovarsi in difficoltà
to be in (financial) difficulties → avere delle difficoltà economiche
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