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difficulty
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English
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.
Pronunciation
Noun
difficulty (countable and uncountable, plural difficulties)
- 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.
- An obstacle that hinders achievement of a goal.
- We faced a difficulty in trying to book a flight so late.
- 1860, Photographic news for amateur photographers, volumes 3-4, page 113:
- The difficulties of photoheliography consist principally in the rapidity with which the sun's image acts upon the sensitive film.
- 2019 June 27, Lauren Gambino, “Democratic 2020 candidates clash on healthcare, immigration and economy in first debate”, in The Guardian:
- The two-hour debate was briefly stalled by a technical difficulty with the moderators’ microphones.
- (sometimes in the plural) Physical danger from the environment, especially with risk of drowning
- 2012 August 2, "Children rescued after getting into difficulties in Donegal" BBC Online
- 2016 March 30, Alan Thompson, “Diver taken to hospital after getting into difficulties at Stoney Cove diving centre”, in Leicester Mercury:
- 2016 February 24, Catherine Shanahan, “Boy, 13, drowns after getting into difficulty in river”, in Irish Examiner:
- The three teenagers, a girl and two boys, were playing by the river when it is believed they got into difficulty.
- 2016 March 19, Neil Shaw, “Teens rescued from Dartmoor after getting into difficulty”, in Plymouth Herald:
- A group of young people had to be rescued from Dartmoor on Friday night after getting into difficulty during a Duke of Edinburgh exercise. […] A 16-year-old girl required medical attention and a medic was winched down to the site by helicopter.
- An objection.
- That which cannot be easily understood or believed.
- An awkward situation or quarrel.
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
state of being difficult
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obstacle
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Further reading
- “difficulty”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “difficulty”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.
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