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difficulty - 4 dictionary results

dif⋅fi⋅cul⋅ty

  [dif-i-kuhl-tee, -kuhl-tee]
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–noun, plural -ties.
1. the fact or condition of being difficult.
2. Often, difficul⋅ties. an embarrassing situation, esp. of financial affairs.
3. a trouble or struggle.
4. a cause of trouble, struggle, or embarrassment.
5. a disagreement or dispute.
6. reluctance; unwillingness.
7. a demur; objection.
8. something that is hard to do, understand, or surmount; an impediment or obstacle.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME difficulte (< AF) < L difficultās, equiv. to difficil(is) difficile + -tās -ty 2

Synonyms:
2. dilemma, predicament, quandary, plight, fix, exigency, strait. 3. problem.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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dif·fi·cul·ty   (dĭf'ĭ-kŭl'tē, -kəl-)   
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 difficultās, from difficilis, difficult : dis-, dis- + facilis, easy; see dhē- in Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: 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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Difficulty

Dif"fi*cul*ty\, n.; pl. Difficulties. [L. difficultas, fr. difficilis difficult; dif- = dis- + facilis easy: cf. F. difficult['e]. See Facile.]

1. 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.

Not being able to promote them [the interests of life] on account of the difficulty of the region. --James Byrne.

2. Something difficult; a thing hard to do or to understand; that which occasions labor or perplexity, and requires skill and perseverance to overcome, solve, or achieve; a hard enterprise; an obstacle; an impediment; as, the difficulties of a science; difficulties in theology.

They lie under some difficulties by reason of the emperor's displeasure. --Addison.

3. A controversy; a falling out; a disagreement; an objection; a cavil.

Measures for terminating all local difficulties. --Bancroft.

4. Embarrassment of affairs, especially financial affairs; -- usually in the plural; as, to be in difficulties.

In days of difficulty and pressure. --Tennyson.

Syn: Impediment; obstacle; obstruction; embarrassment; perplexity; exigency; distress; trouble; trial; objection; cavil. See Impediment.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : difficulty
Spanish: dificultad,
German: die Schwierigkeit,
Japanese: 困難
More Translations »

difficulty 
1382, from O.Fr. difficulte, from L. difficultatem (nom. difficultus), from difficilis "hard," from dis- "not, away from" + facilis "easy" (see facile). Difficult is a c.1400 back-formation.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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