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English Vocabulary in Use Advance (Unit 69: Difficulties and dilemmas)


A. Nouns relating to difficulties

  • Fairly small difficulties: a snag, a hitch, a glitch (usually technical).
  • More important difficulties:
    • setback: progress stopped by something.
    • stumbling block: something that prevents action or agreement.
    • pitfall: an unexpected difficulty (often used in plural).
    • obstacle: anything that stops progress, literally or metaphorically.
    • impediment: something that prevents free action, progress or movement.
    • dilemma: situation where a difficult choice must be made between two unpleasant alternatives.
    • ordeal: a severe, painful or tiring experience.

B. Adjectives relating to difficulty

Adjective Meaning Collocations
problematic full of problems or difficulties relationship, situation, concept
abstruse difficult to understand theory, argument, philosopher
arduous difficult, tiring, needing much effort climb, task, journey
complex difficult to understand as it has many parts issue, problem, theory, process
convoluted unreasonably long and hard to follow explanation, sentences, theory
gruelling extremely tiring and difficult journey, work, match, expedition
insufferable difficult to bear; annoying or uncomfortable behaviour, heat, boredom, pain, person
obstructive causing deliberate difficulties person, measure, behaviour
tough difficult to deal with or do time, job, climate, decision
traumatic shocking and upsetting experience, past, childhood
wayward changeable, selfish and/or hard to control behaviour, child, person

Common mistakes

Difficulty is used in the singular in the expression to have difficulty in doing something: I had great difficulty in finding a job at first (NOT great difficulties).

C. Informal expressions relating to difficulties

  • Oh dear, more homework! What a pain! / What a drag!
  • The software is good for still images, but editing video is a real chore.
  • What’s eating him? / What’s bugging him?
  • I can’t face the hassle of moving house again.
  • My daughter keeps hassling me for a new bike.
  • Having to listen to him singing is sheer torture.
  • to slog (your guts out) / grind / graft / flog yourself to death
  • in a fix / in a spot / in a hole / up against it / up to your neck
  • The company’s in a sticky/tricky situation now the workers are going to strike.
  • I think I’m off the hook / in the clear / out of the woods now.
  • The downside of living here is the traffic thundering by.
Exercise-69.1


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