difficulty

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English Vietnamese dictionary

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Advanced English dictionary

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+ noun (plural difficulties)
1 [C, usually pl., U] a problem; a thing or situation that causes problems: the difficulties of English syntax + children with severe learning difficulties + We've run into difficulties / difficulty with the new project. + He got into difficulties while swimming and had to be rescued. + The bank is in difficulty / difficulties. + It was a time fraught with difficulties and frustration.
2 [U] the state or quality of being hard to do or to understand; the effort that sth involves: I had considerable difficulty (in) persuading her to leave. + I had no difficulty (in) making myself understood. + The changes were made with surprisingly little difficulty. + He spoke slowly and with great difficulty. + We found the house without difficulty. + They discussed the difficulty of studying abroad.
Help Note: You cannot say 'have difficulty to do sth': I had difficulty to persuade her to leave.
3 [U] how hard sth is: varying levels of difficulty + questions of increasing difficulty

Thesaurus dictionary

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n.

1 strain, hardship, arduousness, laboriousness, formidableness, tribulation, painfulness:

Despite much difficulty she succeeded.

2 hardship, obstacle, problem, distress, pitfall, dilemma, predicament, problem, snag, hindrance; Gordian knot:

He has encountered difficulties during his career.

3 Often, difficulties. embarrassment, plight, predicament, mess, strait(s), trouble, scrape, Colloq hot water, jam, pickle, fix; hot potato:

She always seems to be in financial difficulties.

Collocation dictionary

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ADJ.

considerable, enormous, grave, great, major, real, serious, severe

We had enormous difficulty in getting hold of the right equipment.

| insurmountable | increasing

questions of increasing difficulty

| inherent

the difficulties inherent in treating overdose patients

| particular, special

English spelling presents special difficulties for foreign learners.

| economic, financial | practical, technical

I think we've managed to overcome most of the practical difficulties.

| behavioural, emotional, learning

children with learning difficulties

QUANT.

level

The games have various different levels of difficulty.

VERB + DIFFICULTY

encounter, experience, face, get into, have, run into

Among the difficulties encountered was a lack of cooperation on the part of the authorities. Anyone experiencing difficulty with radio reception should call us on the new helpline. Let me know if you have any difficulties. I had little difficulty in persuading the others to come. The scheme has run into serious difficulties.

| cause, create, make, present

Will it cause any difficulties if I go early? She is always making difficulties for herself.

| cope with, deal with, overcome, resolve, solve, surmount | avoid

how to avoid technical difficulties

| be fraught with

The situation was fraught with difficulty.

DIFFICULTY + VERB

arise, crop up

Difficulties arise when people fail to consult their colleagues.

| lie (in sth)

The difficulty lies in identifying the precise nature of the problem.

PREP.

despite a/the ~

Despite all the difficulties, he still remains optimistic.

| in ~

We could see that the swimmer was in difficulties.

| with/without ~

We crossed the border without any difficulty. Life in the city was not without its difficulties.

| ~ in

She had difficulty in starting her car.

| ~ of

the difficulty of finding affordable accommodation

| ~ with

having difficulty with the engine

Concise English dictionary

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difficulties'dɪfɪkʌltɪ /kltɪ
noun
+an effort that is inconvenient
+a factor causing trouble in achieving a positive result or tending to produce a negative result
+a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome
+the quality of being difficult