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δυσκόλως

dyskólōs

G1423 adverb

SILEX Entry

Definition

With difficulty; in a manner that is hard or challenging. The adverb conveys the sense of something being accomplished only with much effort, difficulty, or reluctance. Depending on context, it may indicate practical difficulty, resistance, or the improbability of an event.

Semantic Range

with difficulty, hardly, only with great effort, scarcely, in a manner that faces resistance or challenge

Root / Etymology

From the adjective δύσκολος ('hard to please, difficult, disagreeable'), itself formed from δυσ- ('bad, hard, difficult') + κῶλος ('limb', later 'temper, disposition'); thus, 'of difficult disposition', 'unmanageable'. The adverbial form expresses the manner of being 'difficult'.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, δύσκολος originally referred to a person's character—that someone was hard to please or irritable. As an adverb, δυσκόλως is rare in classical texts but comes to denote circumstances or actions that are achieved only with resistance or hardship. In the New Testament (e.g. Mark 10:23–24; Matthew 19:23), it denotes the difficulty of an event occurring. English translations often render it as 'hardly' or 'with difficulty', but this may understate the nuance that a result is not just unlikely but faces real, substantial obstacles. The sense is less about theoretical possibility and more about practical resistance or challenge faced in reality. The word does not carry a theological or technical sense; its meaning is situational, based on the level of challenge or opposition present. Compared to related terms such as μόλις ('scarcely, with difficulty'), δυσκόλως stresses the active difficulty or resistance more than mere rarity or improbability of occurrence.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

adverb from δύσκολος; impracticably:--hardly.

Root Family

δυσκόλως (dyskólōs) — with difficulty, hard, unyielding, resistant

Root δυσκόλ- to be difficult, to be hard, to be unyielding, to resist

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G1423-01 δυσκόλως duskolos ADV hardly with difficulty with difficulty 3

Occurrences in Scripture

3 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G1423-01 Matthew 19:23 δυσκόλως duskolos ADV hardly with difficulty with difficulty
G1423-01 Mark 10:23 δυσκόλως duskolos ADV difficultly with difficulty with difficulty
G1423-01 Luke 18:24 δυσκόλως duskolos ADV hardly with difficulty with difficulty
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