Resolve v. Solve

D

drunkenj81

New Member
Korean
This is a sentence from an aritle posted on NY times website:

"Stan Conte, the team’s director of medical services and head athletic trainer expects the answers to help him resolve a problem plaguing professional sports teams: injuries."

Can you use "solve" in the place of "resolve"?


Thank you.
 
    • They are not exact synonyms.
    If you use this forum's very comprehensive search facilities you will find some previous threads that explain some of the differences between solve and resolve.

    Click on solve resolve.
     
    To me, resolve does not mean completely solve. For example, when a pimple drains, the condition may be considered "resolved", but the pimple is still there. When the injury problem is resolved, the injuries may still happen, but perhaps at a more "acceptable" rate and severity.

    On the other hand, the "problem of injuries" may be something other than the injuries themselves, and the problem may be "solved" just by finding out the reason for the injuries without really "resolving" anything.
     
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