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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

problematic.

Posing a problem; having or suffering from problem(s):

11 characters4 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

adj/ˌpɹɒb.ləˈmæt.ɪk/Received-Pronunciation/ˌpɹɑ.bləˈmæt.ɪk/General-American

  1. Posing a problem; having or suffering from problem(s): Difficult to overcome, solve, or decide.

  2. Posing a problem; having or suffering from problem(s): Not settled, uncertain, of uncertain outcome; debatable, questionable, open to doubt.

    a problematic analysis
    it portends a problematic future for the movement

  3. Posing a problem; having or suffering from problem(s): Contributing (especially if subtly) to discrimination (such as racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, or ageism).

  4. Only affirming the possibility that a predicate be actualised.

    dated
Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Middle French problématique, from Late Latin problematicus, from Ancient Greek προβληματικός (problēmatikós), from πρόβλημα (próblēma, “outjutting, barrier, problem”), from προβάλλω (probállō, “I throw, place before”), from πρό (pró, “before”) + βάλλω (bállō, “I throw, place”). By surface analysis, problem + -atic.

noun/ˌpɹɒb.ləˈmæt.ɪk/Received-Pronunciation/ˌpɹɑ.bləˈmæt.ɪk/General-American

  1. A problem or difficulty in a particular field of study.

Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Middle French problématique, from Late Latin problematicus, from Ancient Greek προβληματικός (problēmatikós), from πρόβλημα (próblēma, “outjutting, barrier, problem”), from προβάλλω (probállō, “I throw, place before”), from πρό (pró, “before”) + βάλλω (bállō, “I throw, place”). By surface analysis, problem + -atic.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.