difficulty
/ˈdɪfɪkəlti/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: 4.33 in modern English
22
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "My mom is old and has a lot of difficulty (in) remembering all her grandchildren's names."
- "We faced a difficulty in trying to book a flight so late."
- "The difficulties of photoheliography consist principally in the rapidity with which the sun's image acts upon the sensitive film."
- "The two-hour debate was briefly stalled by a technical difficulty with the moderators’ microphones."
- "2012 August 2, "Children rescued after getting into difficulties in Donegal" BBC Online"
- "The three teenagers, a girl and two boys, were playing by the river when it is believed they got into difficulty."
Etymology
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: difficulte, -, difficultas
Usage
Inflected Forms
Derived Forms
Phrases
difficulty level
in difficulty
learning difficulty
personality difficulty
technical difficulty
with difficulty
with great difficulty