difficulty

dif·fi·cul·ty | \ ˈdi-fi-(ˌ)kəl-tē

plural difficulties

Definition of difficulty

1 : the quality or state of being hard to do, deal with, or understand : the quality or state of being difficult underestimated the difficulty of the task has difficulty reading climbs stairs with difficulty

2 : controversy, disagreement unable to resolve their difficulties

3 : objection made no difficulty in granting the request

4 : something difficult : impediment encountering difficulties along the way

5 : embarrassment, trouble —usually used in pluralfinancial difficulties

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about difficulty

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Examples of difficulty in a Sentence

She underestimated the difficulty of saving so much money. the many difficulties that he encountered on the road from poor orphan to head of a major corporation

Recent Examples on the Web Anyone that displays symptoms — including a fever, chills, a cough or difficulty breathing — can't get on. — Daniela Sirtori-cortina, CNN, "Going on a cruise? Here's how the coronavirus will change your trip," 7 Feb. 2020 Symptoms are thought to appear within two to 14 days after exposure and consist of fever, cough, runny nose, and difficulty breathing. — Stephanie Innes, azcentral, "New details released about Arizona coronavirus patient," 7 Feb. 2020 The symptoms of 2019-nCoV are respiratory infection, cough, difficulty breathing, and fever, according to the CDC. — Popular Science, "Wuhan’s new hospitals are sorely needed, but they won’t stop the spread of disease," 4 Feb. 2020 Guests or crew members with fever, chills, cough or difficulty breathing will not be allowed on board, the company said in a statement to CBS News. — Megan Cerullo, CBS News, "Traveled to China lately? Forget going on a cruise," 3 Feb. 2020 There is no vaccine for the virus, which causes symptoms including fever, coughing and difficulty breathing. — Bailey Loosemore, The Courier-Journal, "There aren't any coronavirus cases in Kentucky, but that hasn't stopped fear from spreading," 3 Feb. 2020 Both viruses start off similarly: cough, fever, and in some cases difficulty breathing. — Michelle Cortez, BostonGlobe.com, "There’s another virus stalking America: It’s called the flu," 31 Jan. 2020 Those who contract this strain report fever, coughing, and difficulty breathing. — Jiayang Fan, The New Yorker, "What It’s Like to Try to Get Treatment for the Coronavirus in China," 28 Jan. 2020 Symptoms of the virus include runny nose, cough, difficulty breathing, sore throat and fever and, in some patients, life-threatening pneumonia. — Leada Gore | Lgore@al.com, al, "Tennessee Tech student being tested for coronavirus," 25 Jan. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'difficulty.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for difficulty

Middle English difficulte, borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French difficulté, borrowed from Latin difficultāt-, difficultās, from difficilis "hard to do, troublesome, intractable" (from dif-, probably assimilated form of dis- dis- + facilis "easy, accommodating") + -tāt-, -tās -ty — more at facile

Note: Latin difficultās presumably goes back to *dis-fakli-tāts and follows the same path as the base word, from *faklitāts to attested facultās (see faculty), with regular vowel weakening in a non-initial syllable. The word difficilis is derivationally peculiar, as the prefix dis- is regularly applied only to verbs and is not primarily privative—the expected negative counterpart to facilis should have been *infacilis. It has been hypothesized that dis- in this case is a permutation of *dus-, corresponding to Greek dys- "bad, ill" (see dys-; *dus- is otherwise unattested in Latin), or that difficilis is modeled on dissimilis "unlike" (see dissimilar; the adjective similis "like" takes a range of ordinarily verbal prefixes, perhaps following Greek equivalents). Neither solution is entirely satisfactory.