difficulty
/ˈdɪfɪkəlti/ noun
Forms difficulties
- noun The state of being difficult, or hard to do. “My mom is old and has a lot of difficulty (in) remembering all her grandchildren's names.”
- noun An obstacle that hinders achievement of a goal. “We faced a difficulty in trying to book a flight so late.”
- noun (sometimes in the plural) Physical danger from the environment, especially with risk of drowning
- noun An objection.
- noun That which cannot be easily understood or believed.
- noun An awkward situation or quarrel.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English difficulte, from Middle French and Anglo-Norman difficulte and their etymon 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. Also analysable as difficult + -y, though the adjective is historically a backformation from the noun.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The state of being difficult, or hard to do; hardness; arduousness; --opposed to easiness or facility; as, the difficulty of a task or enterprise; a work of difficulty.
- noun Something difficult; a thing hard to do or to understand; that which occasions labor or perplexity, and requires skill perseverance to overcome, solve, or achieve; a hard enterprise; an obstacle; an impediment; as, the difficulties of a science; difficulties in theology.
Etymology [L. difficultas, fr. difficilis difficult; dif- = dis- + facilis easy: cf. F. difficulté. See Facile.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “difficulty”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details