plight

¹ American  

[plahyt] / plaɪt /

noun

1. a condition, state, or situation, especially an unfavorable or unfortunate one.

   to find oneself in a sorry plight.

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plight ² American  

[plahyt] / plaɪt /

verb (used with object)

1. to pledge (one's troth) in engagement to marry.

2. to bind (someone) by a pledge, especially of marriage.

3. to give in pledge, as one's word, or to pledge, as one's honor.

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noun

1. Archaic. pledge.

plight ¹ British  

/ plaɪt /

verb

1. to give or pledge (one's word)

   he plighted his word to attempt it

2. to promise formally or pledge (allegiance, support, etc)

   to plight aid

3. 1. to make a promise of marriage

   2. to give one's solemn promise

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noun

1. archaic a solemn promise, esp of engagement; pledge

plight ² British  

/ plaɪt /

noun

1. a condition of extreme hardship, danger, etc

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Related Words

See predicament.

Other Word Forms

• plighter
  noun
• unplighted
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of plight¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English plit “fold, condition, bad condition,” from Anglo-French (cognate with Middle French pleit plait ) “fold, manner of folding, condition”; spelling apparently influenced by plight ² in obsolete sense “danger”

Origin of plight²

First recorded before 1000; (noun) Middle English; Old English pliht “danger, risk”; cognate with Dutch plicht, German Pflicht “duty, obligation”; (verb) Middle English plighten, Old English plihtan (derivative of the noun) “to endanger, risk, pledge”; cognate with Old High German phlichten “to engage oneself,” Middle Dutch plihten “to guarantee”

Explanation

A plight is a situation that's hard to get out of. Learning about the plight of people trying to rebuild their homes after a devastating earthquake might inspire you to send money to a charity. Plight means predicament. It comes from the word for pleat, which means fold. A plight is a tough bind. You'll usually hear the word plight for groups of people or animals struggling to survive, or struggling for better lives. We talk about the plight of refugees, or the plight of sea birds after an oil spill. An old-fashioned use of plight is for pledge. If you get engaged, you give a plight of your love.

Example Sentences

As with most other episodes of the series, “The Plight Before Christmas” took about nine months to produce by Bento Box in Burbank and Yeson Entertainment in South Korea.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 15, 2023

Everything from Toni Morrison’s “Beloved” to Dav Pilkey’s “Captain Underpants and the Preposterous Plight of the Purple Potty People” is being consigned to the metaphorical fire.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 6, 2022

Silenced in Iran: The Plight of Baha’i Prisoners of Conscience Roxana Saberi Five years after she was freed from Iranian prison Roxana Saberi calls for her fellow prisoners be released as prisoners of conscience.

From Newsweek • Jun. 4, 2013

Colorado Town, United by Dying Boy’s Plight, Discovers Baffling Hoax GYPSUM, Colo. — For a brief, poignant stretch of autumn, people in this mountain town found inspiration in a dying boy named Alex Jordan.

From New York Times • Nov. 15, 2012

Well, actually it’s a tale of how one woman, with an blind eye to stereotypes, had the eraser that took “National Spokesperson for the Plight of Black People” off my forehead.

From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers

Related Words

• condition
• predicament
• quandary
• trouble