problematic
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problematic
- /ˌpɹɒb.ləˈmæt.ɪk/ UK
- /ˌpɹɑ.bləˈmæt.ɪk/ US
Where it 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.
adjective more problematic · most problematic
- Difficult to overcome, solve, or decide. 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.
-
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 problematic what had previously been taken for granted.
Similar: doubtful, dubious, questionable, controversial, uncertain
- Contributing (especially if subtly) to discrimination (such as racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, or ageism).
- Only affirming the possibility that a predicate be actualised.
Similar: difficult, troublesome, complicated, complex, involved · Opposite: unproblematic
noun problematics
- 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.
Thesaurus
adjective
Similar: difficult, troublesome, complicated, complex, involved · Opposite: unproblematic
Translations
Every language
adj posing a problem
| Français | problématique |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | problematisch |
| Italiano | problematico |
| Ελληνικά | προβληματικός provlimatikós |
| Română | problematic |
| Русский | проблемати́чный problematíčnyj |
| עברית | בעייתי ba'ayatí |
adj uncertain, debatable, questionable
| Français | problématique |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | problembehaftet, problematisch |
| Italiano | ambiguo, questionabile |
| Română | problematic |
| Русский | проблемати́чный problematíčnyj |
adj contributing to systemic discrimination
| Français | problématique |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | heikel, fatal, haarig, problematisch (unspecifically) |
noun problem in a particular field of study
| Español | problemática |
|---|---|
| Français | problématique |
| Deutsch | Problematik |
| Русский | проблематика problematika |
Talk about this word "problematic." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/problematic. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. problematic. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/problematic "problematic." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/problematic.Cite this
@misc{problematic_2026,
title = {problematic},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/problematic},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
