- problem
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 sth that causes difficultiesADJECTIVE▪ acute, big, enormous, grave, great, huge, important, major, serious, significant▪
Our greatest problem is the lack of funds.
▪ global▪The traffic in illegal drugs is a global problem.
▪ terrible▪The accident poses a terrible problem for the family.
▪ real▪ perceived▪ little, minor, petty, slight▪ complex, complicated, difficult, knotty, thorny, tough▪ growing▪ basic, central, fundamental, key, main, major, number-one (esp. AmE)▪Access to capital is often the number-one problem for many entrepreneurs.
▪ underlying▪the underlying problem that's causing your high blood pressure
▪ annoying, vexing (esp. AmE)▪ common▪ pressing, urgent▪ unforeseen▪Unforeseen problems often arise.
▪ immediate▪ possible, potential▪Fortunately, it's easy to avoid any potential problems.
▪ insoluble, insuperable (formal), insurmountable (formal), intractable (formal)▪Depression is a natural feeling if your problems seem intractable.
▪ unresolved, unsolved▪The role of the sun in climate change is still a big unsolved problem.
▪ age-old, long-standing, long-term, perennial▪ chronic, ongoing, persistent, recurring▪ inherent▪the inherent problems of merging two very different companies
▪ logistical, practical▪ mechanical, technical▪ systemic▪Systemic security problems have been identified.
▪ attitude, behaviour/behavior, behavioural/behavioral, developmental, emotional, mental, mental-health, psychiatric, psychological▪His teachers say he has an attitude problem.
▪ family, personal▪Her new job had taken her mind off her family problems for a while.
▪ communication▪We had communication problems.
▪ fertility, health, medical, physical, sexual, sleep▪ back, heart, knee▪ alcohol, drink (BrE), drinking (AmE), drug, gambling, substance-abuse▪She had serious substance abuse problems with both cocaine and heroin.
▪ social▪ housing▪ economic, financial, money▪They sold their car to ease their financial problems.
▪ environmental▪ political▪ legal▪ marital, marriage▪ ethical, moral▪Most people can see the ethical problem with accepting such an offer.
… OF PROBLEMS▪ host, set▪We're faced with a whole host of new problems.
▪an elegant solution to a very complex set of problems
VERB + PROBLEM▪ be, pose, present (sb with), remain▪Inadequate resources pose a problem for all members of staff.
▪ have▪ develop▪He developed a drinking problem.
▪ bring, cause, create, pose▪Success brings its own problems.
▪Staff shortages cause problems for the organization.
▪ complicate, compound▪ be beset with, be confronted by, be confronted with, be dogged by (esp. BrE), be faced with, be fraught with, confront, encounter, experience, face, run into, suffer▪He has been faced with all sorts of problems in his new job.
▪The plan has been fraught with problems from the start.
▪ battle▪an important step in battling the terrorist problem
▪ attribute, blame▪the problems attributed to capitalism
▪They blame the problem on the new prescription drug law.
▪ raise▪She raised the problem of falling sales at the last meeting.
▪ see▪He doesn't really see the problem.
▪ define▪ acknowledge, admit, recognize▪I'm glad you finally admitted your problem.
▪ understand▪He doesn't seem to understand my problem.
▪ anticipate, foresee▪I don't anticipate any future problems in that regard.
▪ detect, discover, identify, isolate, pinpoint, spot▪ indicate, point out▪These symptoms may indicate a serious problem.
▪ assess, examine, investigate, study▪They created a task force to study this problem.
▪ diagnose, figure out (esp. AmE), work out▪ consider, debate, discuss, look at, look into▪ describe, frame (esp. AmE)▪Framing the problem is an important step.
▪ address, approach, attack, combat, come to grips with, counter, get to grips with, grapple with, handle, manage, tackle▪The next meeting will address the problem of obesity.
▪ illustrate▪This illustrates another potential problem.
▪ highlight, underscore (esp. AmE)▪This underscores the biggest problem with electronic voting.
▪ mask▪All the anti-depressant does is mask the problem.
▪ avoid, circumvent, find a way around, find a way round (esp. BrE), get around, get round (esp. BrE), prevent, sidestep▪ ignore▪ overlook▪For years I've tried to overlook this problem.
▪ forget▪I forgot my problems for a moment.
▪ clear up, correct, cure, deal with, eliminate, fix (esp. AmE), iron out, overcome, rectify, remedy, repair, resolve, settle, solve, sort out, troubleshoot▪He had to undergo surgery to cure the problem with his knee.
▪ alleviate, ease, minimize, mitigate, reduce, relieve, simplify▪ aggravate, exacerbate, exaggerate, magnify, worsen▪ analyse/analyze, explorePROBLEM + VERB▪ arise, come up, crop up, emerge, occur, surface▪problems arising from poor ventilation
▪ exist▪ begin, originate▪No one ever asked why or how the problem originated.
▪ persist, remain▪If the problem persists you should see a doctor.
▪The basic problem remains the lack of available housing.
▪ afflict sb, beset sb, confront sb, face sb, plague sb▪ lie in sth▪The problem lies in the lack of communication between managers and staff.
▪Therein lies the problem.
▪ result from sth, stem from sth▪a problem resulting from technical inadequacy
PROBLEM + NOUN▪ area, spot▪ behaviour/behavior▪ child▪ drinker, gambler▪One out of every five people is a problem drinker.
▪ drinking, gambling▪a new approach to problem drinking
▪ page (BrE) (= in a magazine, containing letters about readers' problems)PREPOSITION▪ problem about▪I didn't imagine there would be a problem about getting tickets.
▪ problem for▪The rail strike is a problem for all commuters.
▪ problem of▪the problem of poverty
▪ problem with▪Do you have a problem with her?
PHRASES▪ an approach to a problem▪ the crux of the problem, the heart of the problem, the root of the problem▪We need to get to the root of the problem before we can solve it.
▪ the answer to a problem, a remedy to a problem, a solution to a problem▪He believes he may have found the answer to his problem.
▪He believes he may have found a solution to the problem.
▪ the scale of a problem2 question to be solvedADJECTIVE▪ complicated, difficult▪ easy, simple▪ math (AmE), mathematical, maths (BrE)▪the ability to solve simple mathematical problems
VERB + PROBLEM▪ do, find the answer to, solve, work out▪I have five problems to do for homework.
PROBLEM + NOUN▪ set (AmE){{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}adj.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
