I need one word(or two) for somebody who has a problem. Any problem. For example, when the person to whom an address belongs (in a letter) is called an addressee(not entirely correct) So in similar terms, what's the person with a problem called?
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closed as not a real question by Will Hunting, aedia λ, simchona♦, Robusto, Mitch Mar 19 '12 at 18:57
It's difficult to tell what is being asked here. This question is ambiguous, vague, incomplete, overly broad, or rhetorical and cannot be reasonably answered in its current form. For help clarifying this question so that it can be reopened, see the FAQ.
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As others have noted, I don't think there's a single word that covers all cases. It depends on the type of problem. Often you use a word that describes the person's relationship to you regardless of the fact that they have a problem. Like if it's a customer complaining about bad service or defective products, you generally just call them the "customer". If it's a user of a computer system they are "the user". Etc. If the problem has reached the point where the person is bringing a lawsuit, they are "the plaintiff". If it's a medical problem: "patient". Occassionally, "the afflicted". If the person is making a complaint, you can call them the "complainant", but I think that's pretty rare. If the problem is caused by someone else and you want to place blame, you can say "the victim". That isn't necessarily limited to a crime, like you can say "the victim in the automobile accident". |
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The term for 'person with a problem' is probably person, though you might try sufferer. I imagine, however, you want to cut it down; for example, a person who has asked you to solve the problem might be the applicant, questioner or (technically correct though little used) querent. |
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I don't know a word the matches in general. But in some contexts you can describe him with words that fits the situation. For instance: If the problem faces him to a challenge you can call him challenger or contender. If the situation is very unlucky for him you can call him unlucky fellow. A little bit more general term may be:
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If the person has brought their problem to your attention they could be called the complainant. If they are suffering under a problem, they could be called the sufferer (as @TimLymington explained) or the victim (if it wasn't their fault). |
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You might consider someone with a problem to be unfortunate, in which case you could call them an unfortunate.
So you could say
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It depends greatly on what the "problem" is. If the "problem" is in the sense of a person with a technical problem you might be able to use something like "Dear User:" If, instead, you mean a person with mental or physical deformities, malfunctions or diseases you'd better stick with "Dear Sir:/Dear Madam:" or something similar. |
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