problematize

UK/ˈpɹɒbləmətaɪz/US/ˈpɹɑbləmətaɪz/

problematize verb: to make something into a problem.

Verb

problematize (third-person singular simple present problematizes, present participle problematizing, simple past and past participle problematized)

(transitive) To make something into a problem.
- "If the mob are involved in building a casino," Tina says, "offing some guy who's problematizing their plans is nothing to them. […]2021, Cate Quinn, Black Widows, page 289
Synonyms:

problem
(transitive) To consider something as if it were a problem.
- Dr Allen said it could affect social cohesion and potentially drive harmful rhetoric around migration when Australia's population change was problematised.2024 September 19, Ahmed Yussuf, “Australia's population reaches 27 million with growth largely driven by overseas migration”, in ABC News, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
(intransitive) To propose problems.
- Hear him problematize.

third-person singular present	problematizes
present participle	problematizing
past participle	problematized
past	problematized
alternative form	problematise

From Ancient Greek πρόβλημα, προβλήματος (próblēma, problḗmatos) + English -ize.

What does problematize mean?: Problematize means to make something into a problem.
What part of speech is problematize?: Problematize is a verb.
How do you pronounce problematize?: Problematize is pronounced /ˈpɹɒbləmətaɪz/ (UK).
What is the past tense of problematize?: The past tense of problematize is problematized.

Adapted from Wiktionary: problematize (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “problematize.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/problematize. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.