difficulty - a factor causing trouble in achieving a positive result or tending to produce a negative result; "serious difficulties were encountered in obtaining a pure reagent"

can of worms - a source of unpredictable trouble and complexity

deep water - serious trouble

growing pains - problems that arise in enlarging an enterprise (especially in the early stages)

hydra - trouble that cannot be overcome by a single effort because of its many aspects or its persistent and pervasive quality; "we may be facing a hydra that defies any easy solution"

matter - a problem; "is anything the matter?"

disturbance, perturbation - activity that is an intrusion or interruption; "he looked around for the source of the disturbance"; "there was a disturbance of neural function"

happening, natural event, occurrence - an event that happens

misfortune, bad luck - unnecessary and unforeseen trouble resulting from an unfortunate event

affliction - a cause of great suffering and distress

convulsion - a physical disturbance such as an earthquake or upheaval

embarrassment - some event that causes someone to be embarrassed; "the outcome of the vote was an embarrassment for the liberals"

blaze, hell - a cause of difficulty and suffering; "war is hell"; "go to blazes"

onslaught - a sudden and severe onset of trouble

scandal, outrage - a disgraceful event

interference, noise, disturbance - electrical or acoustic activity that can disturb communication

elbow grease, exertion, effort, travail, sweat - use of physical or mental energy; hard work; "he got an A for effort"; "they managed only with great exertion"

the devil - something difficult or awkward to do or deal with; "it will be the devil to solve"

tsuris - (Yiddish) aggravating trouble; "the frustrating tsuris he subjected himself to"

anxiety - a vague unpleasant emotion that is experienced in anticipation of some (usually ill-defined) misfortune

maternity, pregnancy, gestation - the state of being pregnant; the period from conception to birth when a woman carries a developing fetus in her uterus

charge up, commove, agitate, rouse, turn on, excite, charge - cause to be agitated, excited, or roused; "The speaker charged up the crowd with his inflammatory remarks"

jolt - disturb (someone's) composure; "The audience was jolted by the play"

cark, disorder, disquiet, perturb, unhinge, distract, trouble - disturb in mind or make uneasy or cause to be worried or alarmed; "She was rather perturbed by the news that her father was seriously ill"

impress, strike, affect, move - have an emotional or cognitive impact upon; "This child impressed me as unusually mature"; "This behavior struck me as odd"

distress - cause mental pain to; "The news of her child's illness distressed the mother"

affect, bear upon, impact, bear on, touch on, touch - have an effect upon; "Will the new rules affect me?"

vex, worry - disturb the peace of mind of; afflict with mental agitation or distress; "I cannot sleep--my daughter's health is worrying me"

disturb, trouble, upset - move deeply; "This book upset me"; "A troubling thought"

strain, strive, reach - to exert much effort or energy; "straining our ears to hear"

hurt - give trouble or pain to; "This exercise will hurt your back"

disagree with - be note very well digestible; "Spicy food disagrees with some people"

recrudesce, break out, erupt - become raw or open; "He broke out in hives"; "My skin breaks out when I eat strawberries"; "Such boils tend to recrudesce"