Example
drawback (noun)
A disadvantage of something that is otherwise good; the closest swap.
The main drawback of electric cars is their high purchase price.
Written by Fizza Butool Zaidi and Ali Zaidi
11 alternatives
A disadvantage of something that is otherwise good; the closest swap.
The main drawback of electric cars is their high purchase price.
The negative side of a situation; slightly informal.
The downside of a flexible job is that work can spread into the evening.
Something that restricts what a thing can do.
One limitation of online learning is that practical skills are hard to teach.
A part that is not good enough.
The weakness of this argument is that it ignores the cost to taxpayers.
A fault or failure, often in a system.
The shortcomings of the current pension system are becoming clear.
A fault in a design, plan or argument.
There is a basic flaw in the idea that more homework improves results.
A possible harmful result.
There is a risk that children will spend less time outdoors.
Don't swap blindly: A risk is a possible harm, not a certain one. For a disadvantage that always comes with the choice, write drawback.
What you lose or give up; not only money.
Economic growth has often come at the cost of the environment.
A hidden or unexpected danger.
A common pitfall of studying abroad is underestimating living costs.
Disadvantages, in 'pros and cons'.
One of the cons of living in the city centre is the noise at night.
Used by some writers as the opposite of merit, but rare in British and American English outside points systems.
Instead of 'the merits and demerits of...', write 'the merits and drawbacks of...'.
Don't swap blindly: Avoid it in IELTS. It sounds unnatural to most readers; drawback or disadvantage is the natural choice.
Paraphrasing
Band tip: the public IELTS Writing band descriptors for Lexical Resource describe Band 7 as using “less common lexical items” with “some awareness of style and collocation”. A synonym that changes your meaning or breaks a collocation works against you, so choose the word that fits the sentence, not the rarest one you know.
In context
Despite its convenience, a cashless society has clear drawbacks. The most serious is the risk of excluding older people and those without bank accounts, who may struggle to pay for basic goods. A further limitation is that electronic systems can fail, and a single technical fault could leave shoppers unable to buy food.
Drawback is the closest and most natural. Limitation, weakness, risk and flaw are more specific, so choose the one that matches your point.
It is in some dictionaries, but native writers rarely use 'merits and demerits'. 'Merits and drawbacks' or 'advantages and disadvantages' reads more naturally.
They mean almost the same. Drawback is slightly more formal; downside is common in speech and journalism.
Better not. 'Pros and cons' is fine in Speaking, but in Task 2 use disadvantages or drawbacks.
Practise
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