difficulty Definition
dif·fi·culty (dif′i kul′tē, -kəl′-)
noun pl. -·ties
- the condition or fact of being difficult
- something that is difficult, as a hard problem or an obstacle or objection
- trouble, distress, etc., or a cause of this
- a disagreement or quarrel
Etymology: ME & OFr difficulte < L difficultas < difficilis, difficult < dis-, not + facilis, easy: see facile
difficulty Idioms
in difficulties
in distress, esp. financially
difficulty Usage Examples
Preposition: of
puzzle: The level of difficulty of the puzzles can be selected to suit the audience.
Converse of object
- learn: The target group is young children with learning difficulties under the age of eight years.
- overcome: Major efforts have been made to overcome difficulties with the numerous issues of the JTMP software.
- encounter: Now all I have to do is to convert all my webpages over to the new format - I`ve encountered two difficulties.
- face: Anyone who is prosecuted will also face difficulty in getting a license in the future.
- experience: There is nothing to suggest that a keen 12 year old would experience more difficulties with the theory than a keen 14 year old.
- pose: Some Masters applicants would not know their results until September so an early start date might pose difficulties for some postgraduate degrees.
Adjective modifier
- behavioral: The admission and retention of pupils with social and behavioral difficulties continue to test the inclusion policy.
- financial: These might include financial difficulties or acute or prolonged parental conflict or distress.
- mental: What do we mean by ' abnormal ' psychology, ' mental health difficulties ' or ' psychological problems ' ?
- severe: This is mainly due to the severe difficulties in obtaining quality crystals of sufficient size to perform the experiments.
- technical: Once a few technical difficulties were overcome, Chris Goddard's dazzling fiddle playing had the audience enthralled.
- considerable: Some patients might be expected to benefit from this; others have reported considerable difficulties trying to come of Prozac itself.
Modifies a noun
- breathing: Miss Y had difficulty breathing and staff from the home took her to see a GP ( who was employed by the Trust ).
- walking: When she was used on the beaches she was forced to wear sandals and as a result she had difficulty walking.
Noun used with modifier
- mobility: Disabled facilities: Not suitable for clients with mobility difficulties.
- breathing: A severe cough and breathing difficulties made such preaching from his bed more and more difficult.
- hearing: Would the advice given be any different for a young child with hearing difficulties?
- learning: Study Points Mr and Mrs Green have called into discuss the progress and needs of their daughter who has a specific learning difficulty.
- literacy: Writers with dyslexia or literacy difficulties can benefit from hearing their words read back to them as they type.
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