DIFFICULTY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does difficulty mean? 

• DIFFICULTY (noun)
  The noun DIFFICULTY has 4 senses:

1. an effort that is inconvenient

2. a factor causing trouble in achieving a positive result or tending to produce a negative result

3. a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome

4. the quality of being difficult

  Familiarity information: DIFFICULTY used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DIFFICULTY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

An effort that is inconvenient

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

difficulty; trouble

Context example:

finished the test only with great difficulty

Hypernyms ("difficulty" is a kind of...):

effort; elbow grease; exertion; sweat; travail (use of physical or mental energy; hard work)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "difficulty"):

tsuris ((Yiddish) aggravating trouble)

the devil (something difficult or awkward to do or deal with)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A factor causing trouble in achieving a positive result or tending to produce a negative result

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Context example:

serious difficulties were encountered in obtaining a pure reagent

Hypernyms ("difficulty" is a kind of...):

cognitive factor (something immaterial (as a circumstance or influence) that contributes to producing a result)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "difficulty"):

snorter (something outstandingly difficult)

wrinkle (a minor difficulty)

balk; baulk; check; deterrent; handicap; hinderance; hindrance; impediment (something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress)

booby trap; pitfall (an unforeseen or unexpected or surprising difficulty)

kink (a difficulty or flaw in a plan or operation)

killer (a difficulty that is hard to deal with)

facer ((a dated Briticism) a serious difficulty with which one is suddenly faced)

problem; trouble (a source of difficulty)

pisser (a very disagreeable difficulty)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Context example:

grappling with financial difficulties

Hypernyms ("difficulty" is a kind of...):

condition; status (a state at a particular time)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "difficulty"):

wall (a difficult or awkward situation)

urinary hesitancy (difficulty in beginning the flow of urine; associated with prostate enlargement in men and with narrowing of the urethral opening in women; may be caused by emotional stress in either men or women)

situation (a complex or critical or unusual difficulty)

job; problem (a state of difficulty that needs to be resolved)

mire (a difficulty or embarrassment that is hard to extricate yourself from)

strain; stress (difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension)

hard time; rough sledding (a difficulty that can be overcome with effort)

fix; hole; jam; kettle of fish; mess; muddle; pickle (informal terms for a difficult situation)

pinch (a painful or straitened circumstance)

rattrap (a difficult entangling situation)

plight; predicament; quandary (a situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one)

bitch (an unpleasant difficulty)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The quality of being difficult

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

difficultness; difficulty

Context example:

they agreed about the difficulty of the climb

Hypernyms ("difficulty" is a kind of...):

quality (an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone)

Attribute:

difficult; hard (not easy; requiring great physical or mental effort to accomplish or comprehend or endure)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "difficulty"):

effortfulness (the quality of requiring deliberate effort)

asperity; grimness; hardship; rigor; rigorousness; rigour; rigourousness; severeness; severity (something hard to endure)

hardness; ruggedness (the quality of being difficult to do)

formidability; toughness (impressive difficulty)

burdensomeness; heaviness; onerousness; oppressiveness (unwelcome burdensome difficulty)

niceness; subtlety (the quality of being difficult to detect or analyze)

inconvenience; troublesomeness; worriment (a difficulty that causes anxiety)

Antonym:

ease (freedom from difficulty or hardship or effort)

 Context examples 

I spent months in trying to trace them, and at last, after many doubtings and difficulties, I discovered that the original seller had been Captain Peter Carey, the owner of this hut.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

With some difficulty, and at the expense of a wetting to the waist, I climbed aboard.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

But there was no great difficulty in the first stage of my adventure.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I was under great difficulties between urgency and shame.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

He rose from the sofa and greeted us without difficulty when we entered.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Any day this month would be a fine day to travel except November 24, when Mars will oppose unpredictable Uranus giving you unpredictable and sudden travel difficulties

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

There are endless difficulties, especially in leaving the city.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Mr. Micawber's difficulties are almost overwhelming just at present, said Mrs. Micawber; and whether it is possible to bring him through them, I don't know.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

The latter's breath was drawn with greater and greater difficulty as the moments went by.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Having with difficulty restrained an explosion of merriment, lest it should offend her majesty, Laurie tapped and was graciously received.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)