dilemma
noun /dɪˈlemə/, /daɪˈlemə/
/dɪˈlemə/, /daɪˈlemə/
Idioms - a situation that makes problems, often one in which you have to make a very difficult choice between things of equal importance synonym predicament
- I could see no way of resolving this moral dilemma.
- The digital era brings new ethical dilemmas for journalists.
- in a dilemma They were caught in a real dilemma.
- dilemma about/over something She faced a dilemma about whether to accept the offer or not.
- dilemma between A and B the perennial dilemma between work and family commitments
Extra ExamplesTopics Preferences and decisionsc1- I couldn't see any way out of the dilemma.
- The dilemma facing the country's allies was even more serious.
- The dilemma over human cloning lies at the heart of the ethical choices facing society.
- The fundamental dilemma remains: in a tolerant society, should we tolerate intolerance?
- The minister is now in an impossible dilemma.
- This poses a difficult dilemma for teachers.
- the dilemma that arises when a doctor has to decide whether or not to prescribe an expensive treatment
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- acute
- appalling
- big
- …
- create
- pose
- present somebody with
- …
- arise
- occur
- lie
- …
- in a/the dilemma
- dilemma about
- dilemma over
- …
- a solution to a dilemma
- a way out of a dilemma
Word Originearly 16th cent. (denoting a form of argument involving a choice between equally unfavourable alternatives): via Latin from Greek dilēmma, from di- ‘twice’ + lēmma ‘premise’.
Idioms
on the horns of a dilemma
- in a situation in which you have to make a choice between things that are equally unpleasant
- The medical profession’s eagerness for scientific advance had impaled it on the horns of a dilemma, forcing an unnatural choice between science and morality.
- The dire economic situation had placed the prime minister on the horns of a dilemma.