# difficulty

Pronunciation: US say "DIF-i-kuhl-tee" /ˈdɪfɪkəlti/; UK

## Noun

1. The condition or quality of being hard to do or accomplish.
   - Simple: The quality of something being hard to do.
   - _He completed the final climb only with considerable difficulty._
   - _The difficulty of the negotiations tested everyone's patience._
2. An obstacle that stands in the way of reaching a goal.
   - Simple: Something that gets in the way and makes reaching a goal hard.
   - _The team faced a serious difficulty halfway through the project._
   - _Financial difficulties eventually forced the small company to close._
3. An awkward situation, or a quarrel between people.
   - Simple: An awkward situation, or an argument between people.
   - _A small difficulty arose between the partners over who would lead._
   - _The old difficulties between the two families flared up again at the reunion._
4. A dangerous situation caused by natural surroundings, especially one in which someone may drown.
   - Simple: Danger from your surroundings, especially the risk of drowning.
   - _Lifeguards rescued three bathers in difficulty during the high tide._
   - _A kayaker in difficulty was pulled from the river by rescuers._
5. An objection raised against an idea, claim, or plan.
   - Simple: A reason someone gives against an idea or plan.
   - _He saw no difficulty with the plan and approved it at once._
   - _Reviewers raised difficulties about the study's methods._
6. Something that cannot easily be understood or believed.
   - Simple: Something that is hard to understand or believe.
   - _The proof contains a difficulty that mathematicians have yet to resolve._
   - _Critics noted several difficulties in the author's account of events._

## Origin

The word passed from Middle English difficulte and Middle French/Anglo-Norman difficulte from their Latin source difficultas, built on difficilis ('hard to do'), which comes from dis- plus facilis ('easy'). It can be seen as dis- + facile + -ty, or as difficult + -y, though the adjective is historically a backformation from the noun.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/difficulty (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).