Meaning & use
underlying problem
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
The real or basic cause of a difficulty, which may not be obvious at first.
Grammar: Countable: you can talk about an underlying problem or several underlying problems.
Patterns
- the underlying problem with something
- the underlying problem is that ...
- address the underlying problem
The staff keep leaving, but the underlying problem is low pay, not the workload.
Doctors treated the pain for months before they found the underlying problem.
Unless we deal with the underlying problem, the same complaints will come back.
nouncountablemedical
A medical condition that is already present and makes an illness or injury more serious.
Grammar: Often used in the plural: patients with underlying problems or underlying conditions.
Patterns
- patients with underlying problems
- an underlying problem such as diabetes
Older patients with underlying problems were advised to take extra care.
The virus is more dangerous for people who already have an underlying problem.
Word forms
| plural | underlying problems |
|---|
Common combinations
- the underlying problem
- The underlying problem is a lack of trust between the two sides.
- address the underlying problem
- The new manager tried to address the underlying problem instead of blaming individuals.
- identify the underlying problem
- The report identifies the underlying problem as poor communication.
- an underlying health problem
- He was in hospital with an underlying health problem.
Synonyms and how they differ
- root cause
- More formal and technical; common in reports and investigations.
- basic cause
- Plain and general, but less idiomatic in this exact phrase.
- fundamental problem
- Similar meaning, but suggests something deep and structural rather than simply hidden.
Word family
- underlie verb
- To be the cause or basis of something.
- underlying adjective
- Existing beneath the surface or as a basic cause.
Commonly confused: underlying problem or underlining?
underlying problem vs underlining
Underlining means drawing a line under text; underlying means lying beneath or being the basic cause.
Practice
The team keeps missing deadlines, and the manager says the ______ problem is that no one knows who is in charge.
Choose one answer.
Underlying means hidden but basic or real. Underlining (option 0) refers to drawing a line under words, and underlain (option 2) is a past participle of underlie that does not fit this noun phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “underlying problem”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.