difficulty

/ˈdɪfɪkəlti/

//ˈdɪfɪkəlti// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"difficulty" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“difficulty” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #4,078. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#4,078
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The state of being difficult, or hard to do.

Corpus desk

Index EN-difficulty · difficulty · English

difficulty · rank #4,078 · 14 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #4,078
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH di

Nearest frequency peer: di (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “difficulty”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “difficulty” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

difficulty vs difficult
90% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for difficulty
PropertyValue
Headworddifficulty
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈdɪfɪkəlti/
Letters10
Frequency rank#4,078
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “difficulty”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).difficultylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “di” (#4,077), “dropping” (#4,079), “density” (#4,076). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “difficulty” is #4,078. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around difficulty (IPA /ˈdɪfɪkəlti/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #4,078 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 6 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for difficulty, with forms such as "ddifficulty", "dfificulty", and "diffciulty". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "difficult", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 di… The correct English form is difficulty, spelled D-I-F-F-I-C-U-L-T-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The state of being difficult, or hard to do.
  2. 2
    An obstacle that hinders achievement of a goal.
  3. 3
    Physical danger from the environment, especially with risk of drowning
  4. 4
    An objection.
  5. 5
    That which cannot be easily understood or believed.
  6. 6
    An awkward situation or quarrel.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how difficulty appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. My mom is old and has a lot of difficulty (in) remembering all her grandchildren's names.
  2. We faced a difficulty in trying to book a flight so late.

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.

This word in other languages

dificultad(Español)difficulté(Français)Schwierigkeit(Deutsch)dificuldade(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddifficulty
  • dfificulty
  • diffciulty
  • difficculty
  • difficluty
  • difficullty
  • difficultty
  • difficultyy
  • difficulyt
  • difficutly
  • diffiuclty
  • dificulty
  • dififculty
  • idfficulty

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of difficulty - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ddifficulty1dfificulty2diffciulty2difficculty1difficluty2difficullty1difficultty1difficultyy1
Edit distance from "difficulty"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "difficulty"?
"difficulty" is spelled D-I-F-F-I-C-U-L-T-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈdɪfɪkəlti/.
What does "difficulty" mean?
As a noun, "difficulty" means: The state of being difficult, or hard to do.
What words are commonly confused with "difficulty"?
"difficulty" is commonly confused with "difficult". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "difficulty"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "difficulty" is /ˈdɪfɪkəlti/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "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. Equiva... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "difficulty", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

elementary#4,081mechanical#4,099remembered#4,113punishment#4,040

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

defending14 variantscomputers14 variantsinfection14 variantsInstagram14 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list