英语词汇“dilemma”的英英意思、用法、释义、翻译、读音、例句、短语、词组-英语词典

a situation involving choice between two equally unsatisfactory alternatives

informal a problem seemingly incapable of a satisfactory solution

The tormenting dilemma of the Middle East is this: either we have one people too many or one state too few — Afief Safieh

an argument in which an opponent's position is refuted by being shown to lead to two or more unacceptable alternatives

dilemmatic /diləʹmatik/ adj

[via late Latin from late Greek dilēmmat-, dilēmma, prob back-formation from Greek dilēmmatos involving two assumptions, from di-¹ + lēmmat-, lēmma assumption]

Strictly, a dilemma refers to a situation in which one is faced by two, and only two, equally unpleasant alternatives – as in the slightly old-fashioned phrase to be on the horns of a dilemma. A situation where there are more than two unpleasant alternatives is, strictly speaking, a quandary, though many dictionaries define a dilemma as involving ‘two or more’ unpleasant alternatives. Dilemma ought not to be used if there is an open choice as to how to deal with a problem or if the alternatives faced are not unpleasant

dilemma/diʹlemə, die-/ noun