Dominic Coles IELTS Blog

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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 Coles 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