This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
predicament
[ pri-dik-uh-muhnt for 1, 3; pred-i-kuh-muhnt for 2 ]
/ prɪˈdɪk ə mənt for 1, 3; ˈprɛd ɪ kə mənt for 2 /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
noun
an unpleasantly difficult, perplexing, or dangerous situation.
a class or category of logical or philosophical predication.
Archaic. a particular state, condition, or situation.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
Origin of predicament
synonym study for predicament
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.
OTHER WORDS FROM predicament
pre·dic·a·men·tal [pri-dik-uh-men-tl, pred-i-kuh-], /prɪˌdɪk əˈmɛn tl, ˌprɛd ɪ kə-/, adjectivepre·dic·a·men·tal·ly, adverbWords nearby predicament
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use predicament in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for predicament
predicament
/ (prɪˈdɪkəmənt) /
noun
a perplexing, embarrassing, or difficult situation
(ˈprɛdɪkəmənt) logic obsolete one of Aristotle's ten categories of being
archaic a specific condition, circumstance, state, position, etc
Word Origin for predicament
C14: from Late Latin praedicāmentum what is predicated, from praedicāre to announce, assert; see predicate
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012