IELTS vocabulary problem

Dominic Cole’s IELTS Blog
www.dcielts.com

IELTS Vocabulary - Problems
In IELTS essays you are almost always going to need to write about a problem. To do this
well, you need to be able to use a variety of words to describe problems. Here are a few
basic variations.
You should note that you will need not just synonyms for “problem” but also variations of
adjectives and verbs.
For more detail on this and an interactive exercise see my Problem Vocabulary page
If you do not understand any of these words, I suggest you use the Macmillan Online
Dictionary
Synonyms and antonyms
Nouns

Usage

problem
difficulty

a fairly close synonym to “problem”:

question

this is slightly different to problem: it is something people have
different opinions about

issue

this is something people argue about/ similar to “question”

solution

you normally “find” or “come up with” a solution

Adjectives
One key here is to avoid words such as “big” and “little” and to choose accurate word
combinations. Here are some adjective-noun combinations
Adjectives

Examples

significant

A significant problem many countries face is falling birth rates

fundamental

This is not a minor issue, rather it is a fundamental problem

real

A very real difficulty in many households is rising fuel bills

minor

In my view, global warming is only a minor problem

pressing

This is a pressing problem that needs to be dealt with urgently

Dominic Cole’s IELTS Blog
www.dcielts.com
Adjectives

Examples

serious

Of course, global warming is a serious issue that needs to be
addressed

complex

This is a complex issue and there are no easy solutions to it.

Verbs

Verbs

Examples

Usage

address

The government needs to
address the problem of
unemployment

similar to “deal with” and “tackle”

face

How to combine work with
having children is a problem
facing many women

an alternative here would be the more
academic “confronting”

deal with

We need to deal with the
pressing issue of global
warming

a close synonym of “tackle”: it
includes the idea that the problem is
difficult

tackle

It will not be easy to tackle
global warming

a close synonym of “deal with”

experience

Many families are experiencing
difficulties in paying their rising
fuel bills

a more academic way of saying
“have”

pose

Rising fuel bills pose a problem
for many families

a good collocation to use with
problem meaning “make”

resolve

The best way of resolving the
problem of global warming
would be to raise taxes

you can “solve” a problem or you can
“resolve” a problem