What does difficulty mean?

Definitions for difficulty
ˈdɪf ɪˌkʌl ti, -kəl tidif·fi·cul·ty

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word difficulty.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. trouble, difficultynoun

    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"

  2. difficultynoun

    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"

  3. difficultynoun

    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"

  4. difficulty, difficultnessnoun

    the quality of being difficult

    "they agreed about the difficulty of the climb"

Wiktionary

  1. difficultynoun

    The state of being difficult, or hard to do.

  2. difficultynoun

    An obstacle that hinders achievement of a goal.

    We faced a difficulty.

  3. Etymology: From difficultee, from difficulté, from difficultas, from difficul, older form of difficilis, from dis- + facilis; see difficile and difficult.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Difficultynoun

    Etymology: from difficult; difficultè, French.

    The religion which, by this covenant, we engage ourselves to observe, is a work of labour and difficulty; a service that requires our greatest care and attention to the discharge of it. John Rogers, Serm. 13.

    They mistake difficulties for impossibilities: a pernicious mistake certainly; and the more pernicious, for that men are seldom convinced of it, ’till their convictions do them no good. Robert South, Sermons.

    Thus, by degrees, he rose to Jove’s imperial seat:
    Thus difficulties prove a soul legitimately great. Dryden.

    They lie at present under some difficulties, by reason of the emperor’s displeasure, who has forbidden the importation of their manufactures. Joseph Addison, on Italy.

    Men should consider, that raising difficulties concerning the mysteries in religion, cannot make them more wise, learned, or virtuous. Jonathan Swift.

ChatGPT

  1. difficulty

    Difficulty refers to the level of challenge, complexity, hardness, or obstacle present in a task, situation or process. It indicates the effort, skill, time, or resources required to complete a task or overcome a problem.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Difficultynoun

    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

  2. Difficultynoun

    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

  3. Difficultynoun

    a controversy; a falling out; a disagreement; an objection; a cavil

  4. Difficultynoun

    embarrassment of affairs, especially financial affairs; -- usually in the plural; as, to be in difficulties

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. difficulty

    A word unknown to true salts.

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'difficulty' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #1652

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'difficulty' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1772

  3. Nouns Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'difficulty' in Nouns Frequency: #323

How to pronounce difficulty?

How to say difficulty in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of difficulty in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of difficulty in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7

Examples of difficulty in a Sentence

  1. Rebecca Robbins:

    We found a strong association between frequent difficulty falling asleep and nighttime awakenings and dementia and early death from any cause, even after we controlled for things like depression, sex, income, education and chronic conditions.

  2. Genevieve Piche:

    Being exposed to a depressed mother who has difficulty dealing with her emotions as well as a high level of family conflict and hostility may influence the child to develop more negative emotions, it’s not just an individual factor that heightens the risk of depression, but an accumulation of many risk factors.

  3. Rafi Walden:

    This evening he felt a slight discomfort and we diagnosed that he has some difficulty with the rhythm of the heart which is called atrial fibrillation. He was taken to hospital ... and this is over already spontaneously without even the need for any treatment.

  4. Shawna Hartman:

    This is real rough country out here, and the Black Hawks are helping us get water into areas we had difficulty getting to, there are deep canyons, drainages and gullies that are full of heavy fuels like prairie grasses and red cedar trees. They can hold the heat for a long time and let the fire jump from one place to another.

  5. Ambassador Haim Koren:

    We are happy to move into a fixed position after a period of quite some difficulty and unacceptable conditions, i can go to all kinds of places and meet people as usual - with the requisite preparations, of course.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

difficulty#1#5311#10000

Translations for difficulty

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"difficulty." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/difficulty>.

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    a purposeful or industrious undertaking (especially one that requires effort or boldness)
    A gauge
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    C mediocrity
    D endeavor

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