dilemma

B2 Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /dɑeˈlemə/ UK /daɪˈlɛmə/ See IPA manual

Freq #10710

Meanings

1

noun
A difficult situation in which you must choose between two options that both seem bad.

She faced the dilemma of caring for her parents or keeping her job.
2

noun
Any difficult problem or tricky situation.

The team's main dilemma was how to finish the project on time.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a difficult situation in... quandary

2 noun · any difficult problem or... bind difficulty fix

Word family

Forms dilemmasdilemmata

Derived forms dilemmalikedilemmanadedilemmaticdilemmaticitydilemmic

Related forms conundrum lemmalose-losepentalemmapolylemmapredicamentspannertetralemmatrilemma

Etymology

PIE word *dwóh₁ First attested 1523, from Late Latin dilemma, from Ancient Greek δίλημμα (dílēmma, “ambiguous proposition”), from δι- (di-, “having two of”) + λῆμμα (lêmma, “premise, proposition”).

dilemma la-lat δίλημμα Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

External links

# dilemma

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /dɑeˈlemə/
**IPA (UK):** /daɪˈlɛmə/
**Frequency rank:** 10710

## Meanings
1. A difficult situation in which you must choose between two options that both seem bad.
2. Any difficult problem or tricky situation.

## Examples
- She faced the dilemma of caring for her parents or keeping her job.
- The team's main dilemma was how to finish the project on time.

## Synonyms
- quandary

## Derived Forms
- dilemmalike
- dilemmanade
- dilemmatic
- dilemmaticity
- dilemmic

## Related Forms
- conundrum
- lemma
- lose-lose
- pentalemma
- polylemma
- predicament
- spanner
- tetralemma
- trilemma

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: dilemma
- Root: δίλημμα
- Affix: di- - two

## Etymology
PIE word *dwóh₁ First attested 1523, from Late Latin dilemma, from Ancient Greek δίλημμα (dílēmma, “ambiguous proposition”), from δι- (di-, “having two of”) + λῆμμα (lêmma, “premise, proposition”).

## AI Etymology
dilemma is first attested 1523, from Late Latin dilemma, from Ancient Greek δίλημμα (dílēmma, “ambiguous proposition”), from δι- (di-, “having two of”) + λῆμμα (lêmma, “premise, proposition”). The historical chain includes la-lat dilemma, Ancient Greek δίλημμα. Current senses include A difficult situation in which you must choose between two options that both seem bad and Any difficult problem or tricky situation. English relatives and later formations include dilemmalike, dilemmanade, dilemmatic, conundrum, lemma.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction

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dilemma

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