a substantial difficulty

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "a substantial difficulty" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when describing a significant challenge or obstacle that someone is facing. Example: "The team encountered a substantial difficulty in meeting the project deadline due to unforeseen circumstances."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

3 human-written examples

In the present case a substantial difficulty arises from the fact that, beside imposing the volume constraint ({mathcal H}^n(Q(Gamma ))=omega _n) and that the barycenter of (Gamma ) is at the origin, we have also to fix some second order quantities.

Bulletin of Mathematical Sciences

The time points of all participant-related actions to be taken during the study period are presented in table 1. Retaining participants in a clinical trial of long-term duration represents a substantial difficulty for research teams.

BMJ Open

The additional germ line cells occupy locations near somatic cells of interest throughout the trunk of the worm, which poses a substantial difficulty for annotation approaches that rely on location-based features alone.

Bioinformatics

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

57 human-written examples

"It is gatherings like this one, at a time of substantial difficulty, that offer hope," said Larry Summers while opening last year's conference.

HuffPost

For the higher dimensional situation, one can deal with it in a similar method without substantial difficulty.

Journal of Inequalities and Applications

Michael F. Armstrong, an attorney who represented Mr. Manes, said that no "ill-gotten gains" had been proved in the Manes case, and that he thought the city would have "substantial difficulty" winning a case in any event.

The New York Times

A major drawback has been the substantial difficulty in designing HIF-specific inhibitors owing to the intracellular nature of the protein complex and the lack of active sites to which small molecular inhibitors are usually designed (Scheuermann et al., 2013).

DMM Disease Models and Mechanisms

In doing so we overcome a substantial theoretical difficulty in using reversible indel models during phylogenetic reconstruction.

BMC Evolutionary Biology

While T. gondii has an intron rich genome and, consequently, presents substantial difficulty for gene prediction programs to properly identify gene coding regions, in C. parvum there are almost no introns and gene prediction is rather straightforward [ 20].

BMC Genomics

Subsequently, in response to strong appeals from the German government, the United States approved a similar arrangement between United and Lufthansa -- also at a time when the German carrier was in substantial difficulty.

The New York Times

We use some approaches to prove the global existence-boundedness of classical solutions and overcome the substantial difficulty of the existence of a nonlinear prey-taxis term.

Boundary Value Problems

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

When using "a substantial difficulty", ensure the context clearly indicates what specific issue or task presents this difficulty. Be specific to enhance clarity.

Common error

Avoid using "a substantial difficulty" for minor inconveniences. Reserve it for situations genuinely posing significant challenges or obstacles.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "a substantial difficulty" functions as a noun phrase that identifies a significant problem or challenge. It is often used to describe situations where progress is hindered due to a notable obstacle. Ludwig confirms this usage with examples across various domains.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

Science

60%

News & Media

30%

Formal & Business

10%

Less common in

Academia

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "a substantial difficulty" is a grammatically correct phrase used to denote a significant problem or challenge. Ludwig AI confirms its proper usage, highlighting its prevalence in science, news, and formal business contexts. While not extremely common, it effectively conveys the seriousness of an issue, prompting attention or action. When employing this phrase, be sure to clearly articulate the nature of the difficulty and avoid overusing it for minor inconveniences. Alternatives like "a significant challenge" or "a major obstacle" can be used depending on the specific nuance you wish to convey.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

a significant challenge

Replaces "difficulty" with "challenge", indicating a task that requires effort.

a major obstacle

Substitutes "difficulty" with "obstacle", highlighting something that blocks progress.

a considerable problem

Emphasizes the problematic nature of the difficulty.

a serious impediment

Replaces the phrase with a more formal term, "impediment", denoting a hindrance.

a tough hurdle

Uses "hurdle" to describe a challenge that needs to be overcome.

a formidable obstacle

Adds the adjective "formidable" to emphasize the scale of the obstacle.

a noteworthy setback

Focuses on the regressive aspect of the difficulty.

a grave complication

Highlights the complex nature of the problem.

a tricky situation

Underlines the delicate and potentially problematic nature of the difficulty.

a sticky wicket

Uses an idiomatic expression to describe a challenging situation.

FAQs

How can I use "a substantial difficulty" in a sentence?

Use "a substantial difficulty" to describe a significant challenge or obstacle. For example, "The project faced "a substantial difficulty" due to unforeseen circumstances".

What are some alternatives to "a substantial difficulty"?

You can use alternatives such as "a significant challenge", "a major obstacle", or "a considerable problem" depending on the context.

Is it better to say "a substantial difficulty" or "a major difficulty"?

Both phrases are acceptable, but ""a substantial difficulty"" might suggest a more deeply rooted or complex issue compared to "a major difficulty".

When should I use "a substantial difficulty" instead of "a minor inconvenience"?

Use ""a substantial difficulty"" when the problem significantly impacts progress or outcomes. "A minor inconvenience" is for smaller, less impactful issues.