Meaning & use
intractable problem
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Meaning
phrasecountableformal
A problem that is extremely hard to solve and seems to resist all attempts to fix it.
Grammar: Countable phrase: you can say 'an intractable problem' or 'intractable problems'.
Patterns
- an intractable problem for someone
- remain an intractable problem
- an intractable problem in something
Poverty in the region remains an intractable problem despite decades of aid.
Negotiators admitted that the border dispute was an intractable problem with no quick answer.
For teachers, keeping students engaged online can feel like an intractable problem.
Word forms
| plural | intractable problems |
|---|
Common combinations
- remain an intractable problem
- Housing shortages remain an intractable problem in many large cities.
- an intractable problem for
- Language barriers are an intractable problem for the new health service.
- seemingly intractable problem
- They finally found a way around this seemingly intractable problem.
- face an intractable problem
- The new mayor faces an intractable problem in the city's finances.
- an intractable problem with
- There is an intractable problem with the software that no one can reproduce.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stubborn problem
- Less formal and often used in everyday speech; 'intractable' sounds more academic and suggests repeated failure to solve it.
- insoluble problem
- Focuses on the idea that no solution exists at all, while 'intractable' suggests solutions are extremely difficult but not necessarily impossible.
- thorny issue
- Informal and often implies the problem is sensitive or controversial, not just technically difficult.
Opposites
Word family
- intractability noun
- The quality of being impossible or very hard to solve or control.
- intractably adverb
- In a way that cannot easily be solved or managed.
- tractable adjective
- Easy to deal with or solve; the opposite of intractable.
Commonly confused: intractable problem or untraceable?
intractable problem vs untraceable
'Untraceable' means impossible to find or track down, while 'intractable' means impossible to solve or control. They sound similar but describe very different situations.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'intractable problem' most naturally?
Choose one answer.
'Intractable problem' describes a serious, persistent difficulty that resists solutions, as in sentence B. Sentence An and D contradict the meaning by saying the problem was solved quickly or easily, and C uses it for a trivial everyday issue where 'trouble' or 'difficulty' would be more natural.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “intractable problem”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.