difficulty

difficulty: dif|fi|cul|ty

W1S1 [ˈdıfıkəlti] n plural difficulties

[Date: 1300-1400; : Latin; Origin: difficultas, from difficilis 'difficult', from facilis 'easy']

1.) [U]

if you have difficulty doing something, it is difficult for you to do

have/experience difficulty (in) doing sth

▪ They had great difficulty in finding a replacement.

with/without difficulty

▪ He got to his feet with difficulty.

2.) [C usually plural]

a problem or something that causes trouble

difficulty with

▪ There are several difficulties with this theory.

▪ If you have any difficulties , give me a call.

▪ The project soon ran into difficulties .

▪ Difficulties can arise when there is more than one defendant.

▪ We're confident that the legal difficulties can be overcome .

▪ The rearrangement of school classes may cause timetabling difficulties .

▪ Their ten years of marriage have been fraught with difficulties .

▪ the practical difficulties of prosecuting alleged war criminals

▪ The broadcast was delayed because of technical difficulties .

▪ She developed breathing difficulties during the night.

3.) [U]

if you are in difficulty, you are in a situation in which you have problems

in difficulty

▪ The business is in financial difficulty.

get/run into difficulty

(=get into a difficult situation)

▪ She soon got into difficulty with debt.

4.) [U]

the quality of being difficult to do

the difficulty of (doing) sth

▪ the difficulty of solving such problems

5.) [U]

how difficult something is

▪ The tests vary in difficulty.

→↑learning difficulties

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

HINT sense 1

Do not say that someone 'has difficulty to do something'. Say that someone has difficulty doing something or has difficulty in doing something .

COLLOCATES for sense 2

have/experience/encounter difficulties

run/get into difficulties (=experience difficulties)

difficulties arise

overcome difficulties

cause difficulties (for somebody)

be fraught with/beset by difficulties (=involve a lot of difficulties)

practical difficulties

mechanical/technical difficulties

financial difficulties (=a bad financial situation)

breathing difficulties

behavioural difficulties (=bad behaviour)

marital difficulties (=problems between a husband and wife)

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

difficulty — difficulty, hardship, rigor, vicissitude are synonyms only when they mean something which demands effort and endurance if it is to be overcome or one s end achieved. Difficulty, the most widely applicable of these terms, applies to any condition … New Dictionary of Synonyms
Difficulty — Dif fi*cul*ty, n.; pl. {Difficulties}. [L. difficultas, fr. difficilis difficult; dif = dis + facilis easy: cf. F. difficult[ e]. See {Facile}.] 1. The state of being difficult, or hard to do; hardness; arduousness; opposed to {easiness} or… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
difficulty — [dif′i kul΄tē, dif′ikəl΄tē] n. pl. difficulties [ME & OFr difficulte < L difficultas < difficilis, difficult < dis , not + facilis, easy: see FACILE] 1. the condition or fact of being difficult 2. something that is difficult, as a hard… … English World dictionary
difficulty — [n1] problem; situation requiring great effort adversity, arduousness, awkwardness, barricade, check, complication, crisis, crux, dead end, deadlock, deep water*, dilemma, distress, emergency, exigency, fix*, frustration, hardship, hazard,… … New thesaurus
difficulty — late 14c., from O.Fr. difficulté, from L. difficultatem (nom. difficultas) difficulty, distress, poverty, from difficilis hard, from dis not, away from (see DIS (Cf. dis )) + facilis easy (see FACILE (Cf. facile)) … Etymology dictionary
difficulty — index adversity, aggravation (annoyance), bar (obstruction), burden, complex (entanglement) … Law dictionary
difficulty — ► NOUN (pl. difficulties) 1) the state or condition of being difficult. 2) a difficult or dangerous situation or circumstance. ORIGIN Latin difficultas, from facultas ability, opportunity … English terms dictionary
difficulty — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ considerable, enormous, extreme, grave, great, major, real, serious, severe ▪ We had enormous difficulty … Collocations dictionary
difficulty */*/*/ — UK [ˈdɪfɪk(ə)ltɪ] / US [ˈdɪfɪkəltɪ] noun Word forms difficulty : singular difficulty plural difficulties Metaphor: A difficult idea or situation is like a knot or something that is tied up, tangled, or twisted. When you deal with it successfully … English dictionary
difficulty — dif|fi|cul|ty [ dıfıkəlti ] noun *** 1. ) uncount how difficult something is: The courses vary in content and difficulty. 2. ) uncount if you have difficulty with something, you are not able to do it easily: difficulty (in) doing something: Six… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
difficulty — n. 1) to cause, create, make, present difficulties for 2) to come across, encounter, experience, face, meet, run into difficulties 3) to clear up, overcome, resolve, surmount a difficulty 4) (a) grave, great, insurmountable, serious, severe… … Combinatory dictionary

Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

difficulty

Look at other dictionaries:

Share the article and excerpts

Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Dictionary of contemporary English

difficulty

Look at other dictionaries:

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link