| 单词 | predicament |
| 释义 | predicament —predicamental /pri dik'euh men"tl, pred'i keuh-/, adj. —predicamentally, adv. /pri dik"euh meuhnt/ for 1, 3; /pred"i keuh meuhnt/ for 2, n. 1. an unpleasantly difficult, perplexing, or dangerous situation. 2. a class or category of logical or philosophical predication. 3. Archaic. a particular state, condition, or situation. [1350-1400; 1580-90 for def. 1; ME < LL praedicamentum something predicated, asserted, deriv. of praedicare. See PREDICATE, -MENT] Syn. 1. 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. |
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