#difficulty  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"
  supertype:  cognitive_factor__cognitivefactor  something immaterial (as a circumstance or influence) that contributes to producing a result
  subtype:  trouble.difficulty  a source of difficulty: "one trouble after another delayed the job"; "what's the problem?"
     subtype:  can_of_worms  (informal) a source of unpredictable trouble and complexity
     subtype:  deep_water  serious trouble
     subtype:  growing_pains__growingpain  problems that arise in enlarging an enterprise (especially in the early stages)
     subtype:  matter.trouble  a problem; "is anything the matter?"
  subtype:  facer  (a dated Briticism) a serious difficulty with which one is suddenly faced
  subtype:  killer  a difficulty that is hard to deal with; "that exam was a real killer"
  subtype:  pisser  a very disagreeable difficulty
  subtype:  pitfall  an unforeseen or unexpected difficulty
  subtype:  snorter.difficulty  (British) something outstandingly difficult; "the problem was a real snorter"
  subtype:  deterrent__hindrance__impediment__handicap  something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress
     subtype:  albatross__albatros  (figurative) something that hinders or handicaps; "she was an albatross around his neck"
     subtype:  bind  something that hinders as if with bonds
     subtype:  obstacle.deterrent__obstruction  something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted: "lack of immagination is an obstacle to one's advancement"; "the poverty of a district is an obstacle to good education"; "the filibuster was a major obstruction to the success of their plan"
        subtype:  barrier.obstacle  any condition that makes it difficult to make progress or to achieve an objective; "intolerance is a barrier to understanding"
           subtype:  ideological_barrier__ideologicalbarrier  a barrier to cooperation or interaction resulting from conflicting ideologies
              subtype:  iron_curtain  an impenetrable barrier to communication or information especially as imposed by rigid censorship and secrecy; used by Winston Churchill in 1946 to describe the demarcation between democratic and communist countries
              subtype:  bamboo_curtain  an ideological barrier around communist China especially in the 1950s and 1960s
              subtype:  color_bar__colorbar__colour_bar__color_line__colorline__colourline__Jim_Crow  barrier preventing blacks from participating in various activities with whites
           subtype:  language_barrier  barrier to communication resulting from speaking different languages
        subtype:  rub__hang-up__hitch__snag  an unforeseen obstacle
        subtype:  hurdle.obstacle  an obstacle that you are expected to overcome; "the last hurdle before graduation"
        subtype:  stymie  a thwarting and distressing situation

No statement uses or specializes difficulty; click here to add one.