avoiding difficulty

USAGE SUMMARY

"avoiding difficulty" is correct and usable in written English. You can use it in contexts where you want to express the idea of steering clear of challenges or complications. For example: "She chose the simpler route, avoiding difficulty along the way." Alternative expressions include "steering clear of challenges," "evading complications," and "bypassing obstacles."

✓ Grammatically correct

Science

News & Media

Academia

Encyclopedias

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

60 human-written examples

My lord, you are upright, and you must consider avoiding difficulties (root)./Since my lord is upright, you will certainly consider avoiding difficulties. epistemic). epistemic

Lingua Sinica

(24) 吾子直, 必思自免於難。 (Shǐjì 31; 1459) wú__zǐ__zhí,__bì__sī__zì__miǎn__yú__nàn I__son__upright,__BI__consider__self__avoid__PREP__difficulty My lord, you are upright, and you must consider avoiding difficulties (root)./Since my lord is upright, you will certainly consider avoiding difficulties. epistemic)  . epistemic

Lingua Sinica

Ten years is considered a good enough timescale within policy-making, avoiding difficulties in participants' responsiveness [ 31].

Human Resources for Health

Exclusion criteria were limited to secure inclusion of as many patients as possible and to ensure standardisation of recruitment, thus avoiding difficulties in interpretation of the results.

BMC Family Practice

Girls are preferred over boys to avoid difficulty during ancestral family rites, which are traditionally carried out by sons.

The Economist

It might suit both parties and avoid difficulty in the long term if Airey were cleared to start at Five in January, for example.

The Guardian

To avoid difficulty in the synthesis of cyclic diblock copolymers, cyclic poly(oxyethylene)s with large molecular weights have been prepared by Williamson etherification reaction.

Polymer

The empirical Green's function (EGF) method was used to simulate strong ground motions to avoid difficulty in obtaining accurate velocity structures.

Earth, Planets and Space

Women were not examined in order to avoid difficulty in controlling for phase of the menstrual cycle.

BioMed Research International

Also, adjusting only porosity avoids difficulty with numerical instability in the flow model caused by the addition of correlated parameters (porosity and hydraulic conductivity).

Ground Water

When the parents used the translated version the nurse had to fill in a Swedish version at the same time, to avoid difficulty in understanding the parents' answers.

BMC Pediatrics

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Pair the phrase with a prepositional phrase like "in the synthesis of" or "during the analysis" to clarify the scope of the avoided challenge.

Common error

Avoid using 'evading' when you mean "avoiding difficulty" in a professional context; 'evading' often implies a suspicious or deceptive escape, whereas 'avoiding' suggests prudent prevention.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "avoiding difficulty" functions as a gerund phrase that typically acts as a noun or an adverbial modifier. In the examples provided by Ludwig, it often appears as a participial phrase (e.g., "...thus 'avoiding difficulty'...") to explain the consequence or purpose of a preceding action.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

Science

55%

Academia

25%

News & Media

15%

Less common in

Wiki

3%

Encyclopedias

1%

Social Media

1%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In conclusion, "avoiding difficulty" is a highly effective phrase for professional and academic writing. Ludwig AI indicates that while the plural form "avoiding difficulties" is slightly more frequent in general corpus data, the singular version is perfectly standard for describing the evasion of a general state of trouble. It is most commonly used in scientific methodology sections to justify why certain procedures were chosen. Writers should feel confident using this phrase to denote a proactive approach to problem-solving, ensuring they clearly define what specific challenge is being bypassed for maximum clarity.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

circumventing challenges

Suggests finding a clever way around a problem rather than just staying away from it

bypassing complications

Often used in technical or procedural contexts to indicate skipping unnecessary steps

averting issues

Implies preventing a problem from occurring in the first place

evading problems

Can sometimes imply a slightly more active or tactical escape from existing issues

mitigating risks

Focuses on reducing the impact or likelihood of a negative outcome

sidestepping hurdles

Metaphorical language often used in business or sports contexts

steering clear of trouble

A more idiomatic and informal way to express the idea of avoidance

preventing hardship

Focuses specifically on the human or emotional toll of the difficulty

shunning obstacles

Connotes a deliberate and perhaps forceful avoidance of barriers

escaping adversity

Stronger tone, suggesting a survivalist or high-stakes context

FAQs

How to use "avoiding difficulty" in a sentence?

You can use it to explain a choice, such as: "The researchers opted for a simplified model, "avoiding difficulty" in data interpretation."

What can I say instead of "avoiding difficulty"?

You can use alternatives like "<a href="/s/circumventing+challenges" target="_blank" rel="alternative">circumventing challenges", "<a href="/s/bypassing+complications" target="_blank" rel="alternative">bypassing complications", or "<a href="/s/mitigating+risks" target="_blank" rel="alternative">mitigating risks" depending on the context.

Which is correct, "avoiding difficulty" or "avoiding difficulties"?

Both are correct. "avoiding difficulty" (singular) refers to the general state of hardship, while "<a href="/s/avoiding+difficulties" target="_blank" rel="alternative">avoiding difficulties" (plural) refers to specific, multiple instances of problems.

Is "avoiding difficulty" a formal expression?

Yes, it is highly formal and commonly found in academic journals like "Nature" and "Science" to describe methodological refinements.