| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024pre•dic•a•ment /prɪˈdɪkəmənt/USA pronunciation n. [countable]- an unpleasantly difficult situation:He found himself in one predicament after another.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024pre•dic•a•ment (pri dik′ə mənt for 1, 3; pred′i kə mənt for 2),USA pronunciation n. - an unpleasantly difficult, perplexing, or dangerous situation.
- a class or category of logical or philosophical predication.
- [Archaic.]a particular state, condition, or situation.
- Late Latin praedicāmentum something predicated, asserted, derivative of praedicāre. See predicate, -ment
- 1350–1400; 1580–90 for def. 1; Middle English
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged Predicament, dilemma, plight, quandary refer to unpleasant or puzzling situations. Predicament and plight stress more the unpleasant nature, quandary and dilemma the puzzling nature of the situation. Predicament and plight are sometimes interchangeable; plight, however, though originally meaning peril or danger, is seldom used today except laughingly:When his suit wasn't ready at the cleaners, he was in a terrible plight.Predicament, though likewise capable of being used lightly, may also refer to a really crucial situation:Stranded in a strange city without money, he was in a predicament.Dilemma, in popular use, means a position of doubt or perplexity in which one is faced by two equally undesirable alternatives:the dilemma of a hostess who must choose between offending her anti-drinking guests or disappointing those who expected cocktails.Quandary is the state of mental perplexity of one faced with a difficult situation:There seemed to be no way out of the quandary.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: predicament /prɪˈdɪkəmənt/ n - a perplexing, embarrassing, or difficult situation
- /ˈprɛdɪkəmənt/ obsolete one of Aristotle's ten categories of being
Etymology: 14th Century: from Late Latin praedicāmentum what is predicated, from praedicāre to announce, assert; see predicate |