- difficulty */*/*/
- UK [ˈdɪfɪk(ə)ltɪ] / US [ˈdɪfɪkəltɪ]
noun
Word forms "difficulty":
singular difficulty plural difficultiesMetaphor:A difficult idea or situation is like a knot or something that is tied up, tangled, or twisted. When you deal with it successfully, it is like untying it and getting rid of the knots and tangles. This is a really knotty problem. ♦ I was tying myself in knots trying to understand how the system worked. ♦ Our financial affairs were in a complete tangle. ♦ I spent ages trying to sort it out. ♦ Sometimes it's hard to disentangle fact from fiction. ♦ You need to tease out all the implications of the question. ♦ It would take a genius to unravel the complexities of his business dealings. ♦ These are difficult situations, and it takes time to straighten them out. ♦ No government has yet had the courage to cut the Gordian knot of the pensions crisis. ➡ problem, situation, understand1) [uncountable] if you have difficulty with something, you are not able to do it easilyhave difficulty with something:have difficulty (in) doing something:She's having difficulty with her schoolwork this year.
great/considerable difficulty:Six months after the accident, he still has difficulty walking.
do something with/without difficulty:We had considerable difficulty finding anywhere to park.
Seb was speaking with great difficulty.
2) [countable] a problemdifficulty with/in:learning/reading/breathing difficulties
have/experience/encounter difficulties:If you experience difficulties in completing the form, ask for help.
cause/give rise to/lead to a difficulty:students who encounter financial difficulties
the difficulty is:Implementing the policy caused difficulties within the company.
a difficulty arises:The real difficulty is that no one in the group has a car.
New difficulties arose from this arrangement.
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Collocations:
Verbs frequently used with difficulty as the object ▪ encounter, experience, face, find, have3) [uncountable/plural] a bad situation with a lot of problemsin difficulty:get/run into difficulty:The loss puts our company in financial difficulty.
The climbers got into difficulties when there was a sudden storm.
4) [uncountable] how difficult something isThe courses vary in content and difficulty.
English dictionary. 2014.