Problem

/ˈpɹɒbləm/

Synonyms for "problem" (276 found)

Ranked by relevance and common usage.

Closest matches (56)

Noun(7 words)

trouble ailmentsassessment unitbenacerraf bugbears challenge complications

ado aggravation annoyance anxietybad newsbaffle bafflementbaffling problembasis bedevilment besetment bewilderment blemishbone of contentionbore bother botheration bothersomenessbrain twisterbug

Show 28 more words

bugaboo bugbear burden businesscan of wormscase catch catechism chapterchinese puzzlecomplication concern confoundment confusion conundrum count crackcrashing borecross questioncross-interrogatory cross-questioncrossword puzzlecruxdebating pointdefect defection deficiency delinquent

Preposition(1 words)

concerning issues

Strong matches (82)

demand devilment difficult difficulty dilemma disadvantage discomposure disconcert disconcertedness disconcertion disconcertment disturbance disturbed dogging downer downfall drag drawback embarrassment enigma

Show 42 more words

enigmatic questionessence evil examine exasperation facer failing failure fault faute feeler fix flaw floorerfly in the ointmentfocus of attentionfocus of interestfoible frailty gistgreat adoharassment harrying head headache heading hitch hole hounding illustration imbroglio imperfection inadequacy inconvenience incorrigible infirmity inquiry interrogation interrogative interrogatory intractable issue

Noun(20 words)

demon dickensdifficult to learndifficultyengineered change outcomeexample exerciseexercise itemextremely difficultfesteringfigure outgrievance headaches hitch hitcheshomework problemhurdle hydras illnessimmediate issues

Related words (138)

Noun(38 words)

issuesissues identifieditems job josephus kinkslegal mattermaladies maladymath problemsmatter in educationmatter in questionmatter to resultsmatter under investigationmessmuddle the recordsobstaclephysics problemsphysics taskplanning failure

Show 18 more words

posers predicament puzzle quandaries question questionsresearch issuesnaggingsocial issuetaskteaching itemtest itemtest itemsthorns troubler vexations vexer worrying

jamjigsaw puzzlekink knotknotty pointleaderleading questionlittle problemliving issuelookoutmain pointmaladjusted mattermatter in handmeat messmind bogglermind-boggler molestationmoot point

Show 78 more words

motif motive muddle mystery nonplus nuisance nutnut to crackobstreperouspain in the neckparadoxpeck of troublesperplexed questionperplexity persecution perturbation pest pickle plight pointpoint at issuepoint in questionposer pother predicamentpretty picklepuzzle puzzlement puzzler quandary query questionquestion at issuequestion markquodlibet refractory reverse riddle rift rubric scrapesea of troublesshortcomingsixty-four dollar questionsnag snarlsomething missingstew sticker stumper subjectsubject mattersubject of thoughtsubstance taint text theme topictough propositiontrialtrial balloontrouble unassuredness uncontrollable ungovernable unmanageable unruly upset vexation vexatiousnessvexed questionvulnerable placeweak linkweak pointweakness why worriment worry

Adjective(2 words)

serious issuesolid matter the material

Choosing the right synonym

Closest matches in this entry: trouble, ado, aggravation, ailments, annoyance.
Sentence evidence is available for problem, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, moby, derived_reverse, and related lexical sources.

Synonym selection checklist

Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "problem".
Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.

When not to replace "problem"

Keep "problem" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.

If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.

Replacement workflow

1. Preserve meaning

Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "problem" intact in the sentence you are editing.

2. Tune tone

Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.

3. Re-read context

Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.

Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.

Final fit check

After choosing a replacement for "problem", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.

If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "problem" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.

Related word relations

OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.

5 relation types

More general

9 entries

activity assignment difficultness difficulty head issue matter question situation

More specific

9 entries

brain teaserhousehold problemmath problemmoney problemobstacle riddlescheduling problemstumbling blockword problem

Collocations

5 entries

homework problemmath problemproblem setproblem solvingword problem

Inflections

1 entries

problems

Derivations

1 entries

problematic

Translations

167 translations across 99 languages.

Afrikaans

1 entries

probleem noun (difficulty)

Albanian

3 entries

problem noun (difficulty)
zavall noun (difficulty)
çështje noun (difficulty)

Amharic

1 entries

ችግር noun (difficulty)

Ancient Greek

1 entries

ἀπορία noun (difficulty)

Arabic

4 entries

مشكل noun (difficulty)
مشكلة noun (difficulty)
مصيبة noun (difficulty)
مُشْكِلَة noun (difficulty)

Aragonese

1 entries

problema noun (difficulty)

Armenian

1 entries

խնդիր noun (difficulty)

Assyrian Neo-Aramaic

1 entries

ܡܘܼܫܟܸܠܵܐ noun (difficulty)

Asturian

1 entries

problema noun (difficulty)

Azerbaijani

2 entries

məsələ noun (difficulty)
problem noun (difficulty)

Bashkir

2 entries

мәсьәлә noun (difficulty)
проблема noun (difficulty)

Basque

1 entries

arazo noun (difficulty)

Belarusian

1 entries

прабле́ма noun (difficulty)

Bengali

4 entries

অসুবিধা noun (difficulty)
ঝামেলা noun (difficulty)
প্রব্লাম্ noun (difficulty)
ভেজাল noun (difficulty)

Breton

1 entries

kudenn noun (difficulty)

Bulgarian

1 entries

пробле́м noun (difficulty)

Burmese

1 entries

ပြဿနာ noun (difficulty)

Catalan

1 entries

problema noun (difficulty)

Cebuano

1 entries

kalisud noun (difficulty)

Chinese Cantonese

4 entries

問題 /问题 noun (difficulty)
困難 /困难 noun (difficulty)
難題 /难题 noun (difficulty)
麻煩 /麻烦 noun (difficulty)

Chinese Mandarin

4 entries

問題 /问题 noun (difficulty)
困難 /困难 noun (difficulty)
難題 /难题 noun (difficulty)
麻煩 /麻烦 noun (difficulty)

Czech

1 entries

problém noun (difficulty)

Danish

1 entries

problem noun (difficulty)

Dari

2 entries

مَسْئَلَه noun (difficulty)
مُشْکِل noun (difficulty)

Dutch

1 entries

probleem noun (difficulty)

Esperanto

1 entries

problemo noun (difficulty)

Estonian

4 entries

kitsikus noun (difficulty)
küsimus noun (difficulty)
mure noun (difficulty)
probleem noun (difficulty)

Finnish

3 entries

ongelma noun (difficulty)
probleemi noun (difficulty)
vaikeus noun (difficulty)

French

1 entries

problème noun (difficulty)

Galician

1 entries

problema noun (difficulty)

Georgian

2 entries

პრობლემა noun (difficulty)
სირთულე noun (difficulty)

German

1 entries

Problem noun (difficulty)

Greek

1 entries

πρόβλημα noun (difficulty)

Hebrew

1 entries

בְּעָיָה noun (difficulty)

Hiligaynon

2 entries

palaligban noun (difficulty)
problema noun (difficulty)

Hindi

4 entries

दिक़्क़त noun (difficulty)
दिक्कत noun (difficulty)
प्रश्न noun (difficulty)
मसला noun (difficulty)

Hungarian

4 entries

baj noun (difficulty)
gond noun (difficulty)
nehézség noun (difficulty)
probléma noun (difficulty)

Icelandic

1 entries

vandamál noun (difficulty)

Indonesian

1 entries

masalah noun (difficulty)

Iranian Persian

2 entries

مَسْئَلِه noun (difficulty)
مُشْکِل noun (difficulty)

Irish

2 entries

deacracht noun (difficulty)
fadhb noun (difficulty)

Italian

1 entries

problema noun (difficulty)

Japanese

1 entries

問題 noun (difficulty)

Kabyle

1 entries

aɣbel noun (difficulty)

Kazakh

2 entries

мәселе noun (difficulty)
проблема noun (difficulty)

Khmer

1 entries

ចំណោទ noun (difficulty)

Korean

1 entries

문제 noun (difficulty)

Kyrgyz

3 entries

көйгөй noun (difficulty)
маселе noun (difficulty)
проблема noun (difficulty)

Lao

1 entries

ບັນຫາ noun (difficulty)

Latvian

1 entries

problēma noun (difficulty)

Lithuanian

1 entries

problema noun (difficulty)

Macedonian

2 entries

про́блем noun (difficulty)
тешко́тија noun (difficulty)

Malay

3 entries

kemusykilan noun (difficulty)
kesulitan noun (difficulty)
masalah noun (difficulty)

Malayalam

1 entries

പ്രശ്നം noun (difficulty)

Maltese

1 entries

problema noun (difficulty)

Maore Comorian

1 entries

taãɓu noun (difficulty)

Mirandese

1 entries

porblema noun (difficulty)

Mongolian

2 entries

хүндрэл noun (difficulty)
ᠬᠦᠨᠳᠦᠷᠡᠯ noun (difficulty)

Māori

1 entries

rarunga noun (difficulty)

Neapolitan

1 entries

prubblema noun (difficulty)

Ngazidja Comorian

1 entries

shaka noun (difficulty)

Norman

1 entries

problième noun (difficulty)

Northern Kurdish

2 entries

mesele noun (difficulty)
problem noun (difficulty)

Norwegian Bokmål

2 entries

aber noun (difficulty)
problem noun (difficulty)

Norwegian Nynorsk

1 entries

problem noun (difficulty)

Occitan

1 entries

problèma noun (difficulty)

Old English

2 entries

hremming noun (difficulty)
wiern noun (difficulty)

Oromo

1 entries

rakkina noun (difficulty)

Pashto

2 entries

مسئله noun (difficulty)
کشاله noun (difficulty)

Polish

2 entries

kłopot noun (difficulty)
problem noun (difficulty)

Portuguese

1 entries

problema noun (difficulty)

Romanian

1 entries

problemă noun (difficulty)

Russian

1 entries

пробле́ма noun (difficulty)

Sanskrit

1 entries

समस्या noun (difficulty)

Scottish Gaelic

2 entries

duilgheadas noun (difficulty)
staing noun (difficulty)

Serbo-Croatian

2 entries

pròblēm noun (difficulty)
про̀бле̄м noun (difficulty)

Slovak

1 entries

problém noun (difficulty)

Slovene

1 entries

problem noun (difficulty)

Spanish

3 entries

dificultad noun (difficulty)
lío noun (difficulty)
problema noun (difficulty)

Swahili

2 entries

masaibu noun (difficulty)
tatizo noun (difficulty)

Swedish

1 entries

problem noun (difficulty)

Tagalog

1 entries

problema noun (difficulty)

Tajik

3 entries

масъала noun (difficulty)
мушкил noun (difficulty)
проблема noun (difficulty)

Tatar

1 entries

мәсьәлә noun (difficulty)

Thai

1 entries

ปัญหา noun (difficulty)

Tibetan

1 entries

རྙོག་དྲ noun (difficulty)

Tunisian Arabic

1 entries

مشكل noun (difficulty)

Turkish

2 entries

problem noun (difficulty)
sorun noun (difficulty)

Turkmen

3 entries

mesele noun (difficulty)
problem noun (difficulty)
problema noun (difficulty)

Tuvaluan

1 entries

fakalavelave noun (difficulty)

Ukrainian

1 entries

пробле́ма noun (difficulty)

Urdu

4 entries

دِقَّت noun (difficulty)
مَسْئَلَہ noun (difficulty)
مُشْکِل noun (difficulty)
مُصِیبَت noun (difficulty)

Uyghur

1 entries

مەسىلە noun (difficulty)

Uzbek

3 entries

masala noun (difficulty)
muammo noun (difficulty)
problema noun (difficulty)

Vietnamese

1 entries

vấn đề noun (difficulty)

Walloon

4 entries

arnåjhe noun (difficulty)
aroke noun (difficulty)
asticote noun (difficulty)
rascråwe noun (difficulty)

Welsh

1 entries

problem noun (difficulty)

Yiddish

1 entries

פּראָבלעם noun (difficulty)

Yucatec Maya

1 entries

toop noun (difficulty)

Sample sentences

19 total sentences available.

Tatoeba + Wiktionary

Then there is a problem...

Source: tatoeba (1327)

There's a problem there that you don't see.

Source: tatoeba (1390)

Where is the problem?

Source: tatoeba (1431)

Therein lies the problem.

Source: tatoeba (1465)

Showing 4 of 19 available sentences.

Common questions

What are the closest synonyms for "problem"?

Closest matches include trouble, ado, aggravation, ailments, annoyance.

How should I check whether a synonym fits "problem"?

Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.

More for "problem"

Meaning

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