a frequent difficulty

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "a frequent difficulty" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it to describe a problem or challenge that occurs often in a particular context or situation. Example: "One of the team's biggest challenges is a frequent difficulty in meeting project deadlines."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

Wiki

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

4 human-written examples

Wildlife may be disturbed, a frequent difficulty for species that breed in exposed areas such as ringed plovers and little terns, and also for wintering geese.

Wikipedia

Wildlife may be disturbed, a frequent difficulty for species that breed in exposed areas such as Ringed Plovers, Little Terns and Common Seals, but also wintering geese.

Wikipedia

A frequent difficulty of image analysis is identification of false positive structures arising from background staining and tissue artefacts, thereby lowering the specificity and reliability of object recognition.

Plosone

Furthermore, a frequent difficulty in assessing the clinical value of prognostic markers is the relatively small number of patients in primary research studies, sometimes a consequence of disease rarity and limited resources, such that each primary study has low statistical power for detecting any benefits of prognostic staging.

British Journal of Cancer

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

56 human-written examples

The major and frequent difficulty in expressing a heterologous protein in a bacterial system concerns the tendency of the recombinant protein to become insoluble [ 17].

BMC Biotechnology

Over lands, the cloud detection on remote sensing images is not an easy task, because of the frequent difficulty to distinguish clouds from the underlying landscape, even at a high resolution.

Remote Sensing of Environment

Montreal respondents were also more likely to report a decline in their standard of living and more frequent difficulty making ends meet than those in the other two cities.

Globalization and Health

The owner had to describe at least three of the following signs as being frequent: difficulty in lying down and/or in getting up from a lying position, difficulty in jumping or refusing to jump, difficulty in walking up or down stairs, or definite lameness.

BMC Veterinary Research

Announced in June 2013, as another litecoin spin-off, infinitecoin differs with more frequent difficulty adjustment rate during mining and the total number of coins that can be created, which is 1142.86 times as many as litecoin.

The Guardian - Tech

The streak of craziness; the thrill of the quest; the frequent difficulty of describing what their invention was, how it worked, what it was for; their vulnerability to ridicule, because what they had done or thought was new; and the need to protect that thought, as something interesting and precious in itself.

The Economist

Teaching diverse students was the most frequent difficulty, which they attempted to overcome by seeking ideas from colleagues and the Internet to diversify their teaching and learning strategies.

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "a frequent difficulty", ensure the context clearly indicates what causes the difficulty. For example, "A frequent difficulty in software development is managing dependencies."

Common error

Avoid turning verbs into nouns unnecessarily. Instead of saying "A frequent difficulty is the implementation", consider using a more direct phrasing: "Implementing this is frequently difficult."

Linguistic Context

The phrase "a frequent difficulty" functions as a noun phrase, typically serving as the subject or object of a sentence. Ludwig examples show it describing recurring problems in various contexts, such as wildlife disturbance or image analysis. The Ludwig AI also confirms its correctness.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

Science

50%

Wiki

33%

News & Media

17%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Formal & Business

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "a frequent difficulty" is a grammatically correct phrase used to introduce recurring problems or challenges across various fields. While Ludwig AI confirms its validity, it is considered a relatively rare expression. It appears mostly in scientific and wiki contexts, suggesting a formal to neutral register. When using this phrase, ensure to clearly define the context of the difficulty to provide a comprehensive understanding to your audience. Consider alternatives like "a common problem" or "a recurring challenge" for variations in tone and emphasis.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

a common problem

Replaces "difficulty" with the more general term "problem".

a recurring challenge

Substitutes "frequent difficulty" with "recurring challenge", emphasizing the repetitive nature of the issue.

a regular obstacle

Replaces "difficulty" with "obstacle", suggesting something that blocks progress regularly.

a persistent issue

Emphasizes the ongoing nature of the difficulty.

a commonplace struggle

Highlights the widespread nature of the difficulty as a common struggle.

a typical complication

Replaces "difficulty" with "complication", indicating something that makes things more complex regularly.

a well-known snag

Uses the informal word "snag" to refer to a known difficulty.

a prevalent setback

Substitutes "difficulty" with "setback", emphasizing the delaying effect of the problem, and "frequent" with "prevalent", highlighting its widespread presence.

a routine hurdle

Replaces "difficulty" with "hurdle", suggesting something that must be overcome routinely.

a familiar pitfall

Uses the word "pitfall" to refer to a hidden danger or difficulty.

FAQs

How can I rephrase "a frequent difficulty" to sound more formal?

In formal contexts, consider using phrases such as "a recurring challenge", "a persistent issue", or "a prevalent obstacle".

What's the difference between "a frequent difficulty" and "a common difficulty"?

"A frequent difficulty" implies that the difficulty occurs often, whereas "a common difficulty" suggests that many people experience the difficulty.

How to use "a frequent difficulty" in a sentence?

You can use "a frequent difficulty" to introduce a problem that often arises in a particular situation. Example: "A frequent difficulty in data analysis is dealing with missing values."

Are there any synonyms for "difficulty" I can use instead of repeating the word?

Yes, you can use synonyms like "problem", "challenge", "obstacle", "issue", or "complication depending on the specific context.