difficulty
1 arduousness, awkwardness, hardship, laboriousness, labour, pain, painfulness, strain, strenuousness, tribulation
2 deep water, dilemma, distress, embarrassment, fix (informal) hot water (informal) jam (informal) mess, perplexity, pickle (informal) plight, predicament, quandary, spot (informal) straits, tight spot, trial, trouble
3 (often plural)
complication, hassle (informal) hazard, hindrance, hurdle, impediment, objection, obstacle, opposition, pitfall, problem, protest, snag, stumbling block