difficulty

1 something that is a cause for suffering or special effort especially in the attainment of a goal the many difficulties that he encountered on the road from poor orphan to head of a major corporation Synonyms adversity, asperity, hardness, hardship, rigor Related Words discomfort, inconvenience, nuisance; affliction, trial, tribulation; knock, misfortune, mishap, tragedy; bar, catch, check, clog, crimp, embarrassment, handicap, hindrance, hitch, hurdle, impediment, interference, let, manacle, obstacle, obstruction, pons asinorum, rub, shackle, snag, stop, trammel; block, chain, deterrent, encumbrance, fetter, inhibition; hump Near Antonyms advantage, break, opportunity

2 something that makes a situation more complicated or difficult there was a minor difficulty when we realized that the store had already closed Synonyms complexity, complicacy, convolution, complication, intricacyRelated Words aftereffect, ramification, side effect (also side reaction); subtlety, technicality; annoyance, bitch, bother, headache, inconvenience, matter, trouble

3 a feeling or declaration of disapproval or dissent the only difficulty I have with the dress is its color—does it come in anything besides purple? Synonyms challenge, complaint, demur, demurral, demurrer, objection, exception, expostulation, fuss, kick, protest, question, remonstrance, stinkRelated Words compunction, doubt, misgiving, qualm, scruple; misunderstanding; cavil, niggle [chiefly British], quibble; argument, conflict, debate, dispute, dissent, hassle, quarrel, squabble, static; censure, criticism; defiance, disobedience, rebellion; distrust, distrustfulness, dubiety, dubitation [archaic], incertitude, indetermination, misdoubt, mistrust, mistrustfulness, reservation, skepticism, suspicion, uncertainty; qualmishness, unease, uneasiness; reluctance, unwillingnessNear Antonyms willingness; approval, sanction; acceptance, acquiescence, agreement, assent; compliance, obedience

4 variance of opinion on a matter the theologian's ongoing difficulties with the Vatican Synonyms contestation, controversy, debate, difference, disagreement, disputation, dispute, dissension (also dissention), dissensus, firestorm, nonconcurrenceRelated Words clash, collision, conflict, confliction, disaccord, discord, dissonance; apartness, divarication, division; combat, contention, strife, struggle; altercation, argument, bicker, falling-out, fight, kickup, misunderstanding, quarrel, set-toNear Antonyms acceptance, compliance; concord, peaceAntonyms accord, agreement, consensus, harmony, unanimity