difficulty
/'difikəlti/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- The quality or state of being hard to do, understand, or deal with: "Difficulty" refers to the fact of something not being easy, requiring effort or skill.
- A problem or obstacle that makes something hard to achieve: "Difficulty" can be a specific thing that causes trouble or stands in the way of success.
- A state of hardship or trouble, often involving a lack of money or resources: "Difficulty" can describe a challenging situation or condition of life.
- Great effort or inconvenience required to do something: "Difficulty" can refer to the exertion or struggle involved in an action.
Examples of Usage
- Noun:
- They discussed the difficulty of the task. (The challenge level of the task was discussed.)
- The company is facing financial difficulties. (The company is experiencing monetary problems.)
- She had great difficulty understanding the instructions. (She found it very hard to understand the instructions.)
- He completed the climb, but only with difficulty. (He finished the climb, but it required a lot of effort.)
Advanced Usage
- "To have difficulty (in) doing something": To find it hard to perform a specific action.
- He has difficulty walking without a cane.
- "To make/raise difficulties": To create objections or problems, often unnecessarily.
- The committee raised difficulties about the proposed budget.
- "To be in difficulties": To be in a problematic or financially troubled situation.
- After the market crash, many investors found themselves in difficulties.
Variants and Related Words
- Difficult (adj): Hard to do, understand, or deal with.
- It was a difficult decision to make.
- Difficultly (adv, rare): In a difficult manner. (Note: The more common adverb is "with difficulty".)
Synonyms
- Problem: A matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with.
- Hardship: Severe suffering or privation.
- Struggle: A forceful or violent effort to get free of restraint or resist attack.
- Obstacle: A thing that blocks one's way or prevents or hinders progress.
Related Phrases
- With great difficulty: Requiring a very large amount of effort.
- The message was sent with great difficulty.
- Without difficulty: Easily; with no trouble.
- She solved the puzzle without difficulty.
Idioms
- Get/run into difficulties: To encounter problems.
- The project got into difficulties when the main supplier went bankrupt.
- Difficulty level: The degree of challenge in a task, game, or test.
- Please set the game to a higher difficulty level.
Noun
- the quality of being difficult
- they agreed about the difficulty of the climb
- a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome
- grappling with financial difficulties
- a factor causing trouble in achieving a positive result or tending to produce a negative result
- serious difficulties were encountered in obtaining a pure reagent
- an effort that is inconvenient
- I went to a lot of trouble
- he won without any trouble
- had difficulty walking
- finished the test only with great difficulty