noun
difficulty
DIH-fih-kuhl-tee
noun
1
The state or quality of being hard to do, understand, or manage.
"He read the contract with some difficulty."
"The difficulty of the climb surprised even experienced hikers."
2
A problem or obstacle that stands in the way of something.
"They ran into a difficulty when the funding fell through."
How to Use Difficulty
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishHow hard something is, or a specific problem that makes it hard.
Common pairings
with difficulty
in difficulty
a difficulty arose
Word Forms
difficulties plural
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He read the contract with some _____.
Etymology
From Old French difficulté, from Latin difficultas, based on difficilis, "hard to do."