difficulty

From Middle English difficulte, from Middle French and Anglo-Norman difficulte and their etymon Latin difficultas, from difficul, older form of difficilis (“hard to do, difficult”), from dis- + facilis (“easy”); see difficile and difficult. Equivalent to dis- +‎ facile +‎ -ty. Also analysable as difficult +‎ -y, though the adjective is historically a backformation from the noun.

• IPA^(key): /ˈdɪfɪkəlti/

• Audio (US):

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difficulty (countable and uncountable, plural difficulties)

1. The state of being difficult, or hard to do.

   My mom is old and has a lot of difficulty (in) remembering all her grandchildren's names.

2. An obstacle that hinders achievement of a goal.

   We faced a difficulty in trying to book a flight so late.

   • 1860, Photographic news for amateur photographers, volumes 3-4, page 113:

     The difficulties of photoheliography consist principally in the rapidity with which the sun's image acts upon the sensitive film.

   • 2019 June 27, Lauren Gambino, “Democratic 2020 candidates clash on healthcare, immigration and economy in first debate”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     The two-hour debate was briefly stalled by a technical difficulty with the moderators’ microphones.

3. (sometimes in the plural) Physical danger from the environment, especially with risk of drowning
   • 2012 August 2, "Children rescued after getting into difficulties in Donegal" BBC Online
   • 2016 March 30, Alan Thompson, “Diver taken to hospital after getting into difficulties at Stoney Cove diving centre”, in Leicester Mercury:
   • 2016 February 24, Catherine Shanahan, “Boy, 13, drowns after getting into difficulty in river”, in Irish Examiner:

     The three teenagers, a girl and two boys, were playing by the river when it is believed they got into difficulty.

   • 2016 March 14, “Kayaker rescued after getting into difficulty”, in Bournemouth Echo‎^[2]:

     Members of the public had called 999 as they were concerned the kayaker was in difficulty around the headland race due to very strong spring tides and choppy seas with the kayaker making no headway.

   • 2016 March 19, Neil Shaw, “Teens rescued from Dartmoor after getting into difficulty”, in Plymouth Herald:

     A group of young people had to be rescued from Dartmoor on Friday night after getting into difficulty during a Duke of Edinburgh exercise. […] A 16-year-old girl required medical attention and a medic was winched down to the site by helicopter.

4. An objection.
5. That which cannot be easily understood or believed.
6. An awkward situation or quarrel.

• difficile
• difficult

• “difficulty”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “difficulty”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.