predicament

[pri-dik-uh-muhnt, pred-i-kuh-muhnt]

noun

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.

predicament

/ prɪˈdɪkəmənt /

noun

1. a perplexing, embarrassing, or difficult situation

2. obsolete,  logic one of Aristotle's ten categories of being

3. archaic,  a specific condition, circumstance, state, position, etc

Other Word Forms

• predicamental adjective
• predicamentally adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of predicament¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; 1580–90 predicament for def. 1; Middle English, from Late Latin praedicāmentum “something predicated, asserted,” derivative of praedicāre. See predicate, -ment

Word History and Origins

Origin of predicament¹

C14: from Late Latin praedicāmentum what is predicated, from praedicāre to announce, assert; see _predicate

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Firefighters rescued a goat from a baaaad predicament after she took a tumble from the top of her favorite napping rock and found herself trapped in between two minivan-sized boulders.

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But she said she had ultimately found Sir Jim "quite arrogant and more supportive of Ms Booth than our predicament".

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It is a reflection, in a sentence, of how this party perceives its predicament and what it is trying to do about it.

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Is it something he can lean into as a defining idea of his time in office and help him address the predicament he and his party find themselves in?

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Her predicament is reminiscent of another queen who embarked on a conquering path with snarling living weapons on her shoulder.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• circumstance 
• crisis 
• deadlock 
• dilemma 
• hardship 
• imbroglio 
• impasse 
• mess 
• plight 
• posture 
• quagmire 
• quandary