problematic

Etymology

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.

adj

1. Posing a problem; having or suffering from problem(s):
   1. Difficult to overcome, solve, or decide.
      However, estimating what consumers will pay in the future is problematic. 2010, The Future of Energy Use
      The station is blessed with a cafe and staff accommodation, as it's an important crew changeover point, although this can be problematic when services are late. November 30 2022, Paul Bigland, “Destination Oban: a Sunday in Scotland”, in RAIL, number 971, page 79
   2. 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. 1992, Mary Romero, “Intersection of Biography and History: My Intellectual Journey”, in Maid in the U.S.A., Routledge, →LCCN, page 1
      a problematic analysis
      it portends a problematic future for the movement
   3. (sociology) Contributing (especially if subtly) to discrimination (such as racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, or ageism).
      April 10 2015, Paige Tutt, Apple’s new diverse emoji are even more problematic than before: Racialized emoji insert race into texts and tweets where it never would have arisen before:
2. (logic, dated) Only affirming the possibility that a predicate be actualised.

noun

1. (chiefly in the plural) A problem or difficulty in a particular field of study.
   However, for those who come to India’s railway history for the first time, perhaps via knowledge of other countries’ railway histories with which they want to make India-based comparisons or in pursuit of a particular problematic—for example the role of railways in economic development—this chapter may prove useful. 3 August 2012, John Hurd, Ian J. Kerr, India’s Railway History: A Research Handbook (Handbook of Oriental Studies: Section Two: South Asia; 27), Leiden: Brill, page 1