Collocations: Problem

problem noun

1 sth that causes difficulties

adjective

acute , big , enormous , grave , great , huge , important , major , serious , significant

Our greatest ~ is the lack of funds.

global

The traffic in illegal drugs is a global ~.

terrible

The accident poses a terrible ~ 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 ~ for many entrepreneurs.

underlying

the underlying ~ that's causing your high blood pressure

annoying , vexing ( esp. AmE )

common

pressing , urgent

unforeseen

Unforeseen ~s often arise.

immediate

possible , potential

Fortunately, it's easy to avoid any potential ~s.

insoluble , insuperable ( formal ) , insurmountable ( formal ) , intractable ( formal )

Depression is a natural feeling if your ~s seem intractable.

unresolved , unsolved

The role of the sun in climate change is still a big unsolved ~.

age-old , long-standing , long-term , perennial

chronic , ongoing , persistent , recurring

inherent

the inherent ~s of merging two very different companies

logistical , practical

mechanical , technical

systemic

Systemic security ~s have been identified.

attitude , behaviour/behavior , behavioural/behavioral , developmental , emotional , mental , mental - health , psychiatric , psychological

His teachers say he has an attitude ~.

family , personal

Her new job had taken her mind off her family ~s for a while.

communication

We had communication ~s.

fertility , health , medical , physical , sexual , sleep

back , heart , knee

alcohol , drink ( BrE ) , drinking ( AmE ) , drug , gambling , substance - abuse

She had serious substance abuse ~s with both cocaine and heroin.

social

housing

economic , financial , money

They sold their car to ease their financial ~s.

environmental

political

legal

marital , marriage

ethical , moral

Most people can see the ethical ~ with accepting such an offer.

… of problems

host , set

We're faced with a whole host of new ~s.

an elegant solution to a very complex set of ~s

verb + problem

be , pose , present (sb with) , remain

Inadequate resources pose a ~ for all members of staff.

have

develop

He developed a drinking ~.

bring , cause , create , pose

Success brings its own ~s.

Staff shortages cause ~s 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 ~s in his new job.

The plan has been fraught with ~s from the start.

battle

an important step in battling the terrorist ~

attribute , blame

the ~s attributed to capitalism

They blame the ~ on the new prescription drug law.

raise

She raised the ~ of falling sales at the last meeting.

see

He doesn't really see the ~.

define

acknowledge , admit , recognize

I'm glad you finally admitted your ~.

understand

He doesn't seem to understand my ~.

anticipate , foresee

I don't anticipate any future ~s in that regard.

detect , discover , identify , isolate , pinpoint , spot

indicate , point out

These symptoms may indicate a serious ~.

assess , examine , investigate , study

They created a task force to study this ~.

diagnose , figure out ( esp. AmE ) , work out

consider , debate , discuss , look at , look into

describe , frame ( esp. AmE )

Framing the ~ 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 ~ of obesity.

illustrate

This illustrates another potential ~.

highlight , underscore ( esp. AmE )

This underscores the biggest ~ with electronic voting.

mask

All the anti-depressant does is mask the ~.

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 ~.

forget

I forgot my ~s 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 ~ with his knee.

alleviate , ease , minimize , mitigate , reduce , relieve , simplify

aggravate , exacerbate , exaggerate , magnify , worsen

analyse/analyze , explore

problem + verb

arise , come up , crop up , emerge , occur , surface

~s arising from poor ventilation

exist

begin , originate

No one ever asked why or how the ~ originated.

persist , remain

If the ~ persists you should see a doctor.

The basic ~ remains the lack of available housing.

afflict sb , beset sb , confront sb , face sb , plague sb

lie in sth

The ~ lies in the lack of communication between managers and staff.

Therein lies the ~.

result from sth , stem from sth

a ~ resulting from technical inadequacy

problem + noun

area , spot

behaviour/behavior

child

drinker , gambler

One out of every five people is a ~ drinker.

drinking , gambling

a new approach to ~ drinking

page ( BrE ) (= in a magazine, containing letters about readers' problems)

preposition

~   about

I didn't imagine there would be a ~ about getting tickets.

~   for

The rail strike is a ~ for all commuters.

~   of

the ~ of poverty

~   with

Do you have a ~ with her?

phrases

an approach to a ~

the crux of the ~ , the heart of the ~ , the root of the ~

We need to get to the root of the ~ before we can solve it.

the answer to a ~ , a remedy to a ~ , a solution to a ~

He believes he may have found the answer to his ~.

He believes he may have found a solution to the ~.

the scale of a ~

2 question to be solved

adjective

complicated , difficult

easy , simple

math ( AmE ) , mathematical , maths ( BrE )

the ability to solve simple mathematical ~s

verb + problem

do , find the answer to , solve , work out

I have five ~s to do for homework.

problem + noun

set ( AmE )