difficulty

n 1: 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"

[syn: {trouble}]

2: 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"

3: a situation or condition almost beyond one's ability to deal

with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome:

"grappling with financial difficulties"

4: the quality of being difficult; "they agreed about the

difficulty of the climb" [syn: {difficultness}] [ant: {ease}]