Dilemma
//daɪˈlɛmə// noun
noun ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A circumstance in which a choice must be made between two or more alternatives that seem equally undesirable.
"A strong dilemma in a desperate case! / To act with infamy, or quit the place."
- 2 state of uncertainty or perplexity especially as requiring a choice between equally unfavorable options wordnet
- 3 Any difficult circumstance or problem.
- 4 A type of syllogism of the form "if A is true then B is true; if C is true then D is true; either A or C is true; therefore either B or D is true".
- 5 Offering to an opponent a choice between two (equally unfavorable) alternatives. rhetoric
Example
More examples"Never in his life had he encountered such a dilemma."
Etymology
PIE word *dwóh₁ First attested 1523, from Late Latin dilemma, from Ancient Greek δίλημμα (dílēmma, “ambiguous proposition”), from δι- (di-, “having two of”) + λῆμμα (lêmma, “premise, proposition”).
Related phrases
More for "dilemma"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.