Spanish Word of the Day Archive
Friday February 29, 2008

dificultar, verb:
to make ... difficult; to hold up

Sometimes you can use a single Spanish word instead of several in English, and dificultar is such a word.

Semejantes restricciones dificultan el comercio.
Such restrictions make trade difficult.

El precio de los departamentos dificulta el acceso de los colombianos a la vivienda.
The price of flats makes it difficult for Colombians to get into the housing market.

Dificultar is also often used to refer to traffic being held up:

La intensa nieve dificultaba la circulación.
Heavy snow was holding up the traffic.


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