difficulty

noun

dif·​fi·​cul·​ty ˈdi-fi-(ˌ)kəl-tē 

plural difficulties

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

couldn't breathe without difficulty

has difficulty reading

climbs stairs with difficulty

2

: something that is not easy to do or deal with

had to overcome many difficulties in life

having financial difficulties

3

: controversy, disagreement

unable to resolve their difficulties

4

: objection

made no difficulty in granting the request

Synonyms of difficulty

• hardship

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

The only real attempt in this episode to describe the difficulty of Maia’s position as Tallulah’s manager comes from Maia’s chirpy co-worker (Lauren Holt, a treat every time). —Caroline Framke, Vulture, 10 Nov. 2025

Most people can enjoy sweet potato skin, but those on low-fiber diets or with swallowing difficulties may need to limit it. —Brittany Lubeck, Verywell Health, 10 Nov. 2025

There are significant limitations that come from the camera's noise handling and the difficulty of manual focusing on faint objects. —Harry Bennett, Space.com, 10 Nov. 2025

Most infants with infant botulism will initially develop constipation, poor feeding, loss of head control, and difficulty swallowing, according to the CDC. —James Powel, USA Today, 10 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

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.

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing difficulty

• learning difficulty

Kids Definition

difficulty

noun

dif·​fi·​cul·​ty ˈdif-ə-(ˌ)kəl-tē 

plural difficulties

1

: difficult nature

the difficulty of a task

2

: great effort

walked with difficulty

3

: something that is hard to do : obstacle

overcome difficulties

4

: a difficult or trying situation : trouble

in financial difficulties

5

: a disagreement in opinion

we ironed out our difficulties