problematic

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

Adjective

  1. Posing a problem; having or suffering from problem(s):
    • And the most problematic thing of all is that it is impossible for me even to know and tell you their names, unless one of them happens to be a playwright. - 1993, Plato, translated by Hugh Tredennick and Harold...
    • However, estimating what consumers will pay in the future is problematic. - 2010, The Future of Energy Use:
    • The station is blessed with a cafe and staff accommodation, as it's an important crew changeover point, although this can be problematic when services are late. - 2022 November 30, Paul Bigland, “Destination Oban: a...

    1. Difficult to overcome, solve, or decide.

    2. Not settled, uncertain, of uncertain outcome; debatable, questionable, open to doubt.

      • The strangeness of hiring undocumented Mexican women as domestics, many of whom were no older than fifteen, seemed strange to me. It was this strangeness that raised the topic of domestic service as a question and made...
      • a problematic analysis
      • it portends a problematic future for the movement

    3. (sociology) Contributing (especially if subtly) to discrimination (such as racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, or ageism).

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

Origin

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.

Forms

more problematic most problematic

Synonyms

difficult troublesome complicated complex involved doubtful dubious questionable controversial uncertain

Antonyms

unproblematic

Related

problem

Derived

metaproblematic multiproblematic nonproblematic problematical problematically problematicity problematicness unproblematic

Noun

  1. A problem or difficulty in a particular field of study.
    • The seemingly intractable problematic of essentialism versus antiessentialism and primordialism versus circumstantialism endemic to identity analysis today. - 2006, Matt Wray, Not Quite White, page 141:
    • However, for those who come to India’s railway history for the first time, perhaps via knowledge of other countries’ railway histories with which they want to make India-based comparisons or in pursuit of a particular...

Forms

problematics