difficulty
English
Etymology
From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle English difficultee, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French difficulté, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin difficultas, from difficul, older form of difficilis (“hard to do, difficult”), from dis- + facilis (“easy”); see difficile and difficult. Equivalent to dis- + facile + -ty.
Pronunciation
Noun
difficulty (countable and uncountable, plural difficulties)
- The state of being difficult, or hard to do.
- An obstacle that hinders achievement of a goal.
- We faced a difficulty in trying to book a flight so late.
- 2019 June 27, Lauren Gambino, “Democratic 2020 candidates clash on healthcare, immigration and economy in first debate”, in The Guardian[1]:
- The two-hour debate was briefly stalled by a technical difficulty with the moderators’ microphones.
- Physical danger from the environment, especially with risk of drowning
- 2016 February 24, Catherine Shanahan, "Boy, 13, drowns after getting into difficulty in river" Irish Examiner
- The three teenagers, a girl and two boys, were playing by the river when it is believed they got into difficulty.
- 2016 March 14, "Kayaker rescued after getting into difficulty" Bournemouth Echo
- Members of the public had called 999 as they were concerned the kayaker was in difficulty around the headland race due to very strong spring tides and choppy seas with the kayaker making no headway.
- 2016 March 19, Neil Shaw "Teens rescued from Dartmoor after getting into difficulty" Plymouth Herald
- A group of young people had to be rescued from Dartmoor on Friday night after getting into difficulty during a Duke of Edinburgh exercise. […] A 16-year-old girl required medical attention and a medic was winched down to the site by helicopter.
- 2016 February 24, Catherine Shanahan, "Boy, 13, drowns after getting into difficulty in river" Irish Examiner
- An objection.
- That which cannot be easily understood or believed.
- An awkward situation or quarrel.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
state of being difficult
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obstacle
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Further reading
- “difficulty”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “difficulty”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Categories:
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Old French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms prefixed with dis-
- English terms suffixed with -ty
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with usage examples
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