dilemma
English
Etymology
PIE word |
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*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”).
Pronunciation
- enPR: dī-lĕmʹə or dĭ-lĕmʹə, IPA(key): /daɪˈlɛmə/, /dɪˈlɛmə/
Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ɛmə
Noun
dilemma (plural dilemmas or dilemmata)
- A circumstance in which a choice must be made between two or more alternatives that seem equally undesirable.
- Synonyms: see Thesaurus:dilemma
- 1731, Jonathan Swift, "An Epistle to Mr. Gay"
- A strong dilemma in a desperate case! / To act with infamy, or quit the place.
- A difficult circumstance or problem.
- Synonyms: bind, fix, pickle, problem, quandary
- (logic) A type of syllogism of the form "if A is true then B is true; if C is true then D is true; either A or C is true; therefore either B or D is true".
- (rhetoric) Offering to an opponent a choice between two (equally unfavorable) alternatives.
Usage notes
Occasionally misspelled as dilemna, perhaps originally via false analogy with words such as condemn, solemn, and hymn. This spelling has been reportedly taught in many regions of Great Britain and the United States as well as around the world, and can be found in the works of many well-known authors (e.g. Isaac Watts, Defoe & Goldsmith).[1]
Derived terms
- dilemmalike
- dilemmanade
- dilemmatic
- dilemmaticity
- Euthyphro dilemma
- false dilemma
- Goldman's dilemma
- gunfighter's dilemma
- on the horns of a dilemma
- table-maker's dilemma
Related terms
- lemma
- trilemma
- tetralemma
- pentalemma
- polylemma
Translations
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See also
- between a rock and a hard place
- between the devil and the deep blue sea
- between Scylla and Charybdis
- Buridan's ass
- no-win situation
- catch-22
- damned if one does and damned if one doesn't
- doomed if you do, doomed if you don't
- predicament
References
- Michael Quinion (1996–2023), “Dilemma”, in World Wide Words.
Further reading
- dilemma on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Silva Rhetoricae
Anagrams
- midmeal
Dutch
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin dilemma, from Ancient Greek δίλημμα (dílēmma).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˌdiˈlɛ.maː/
Audio (file) - Hyphenation: di‧lem‧ma
- Rhymes: -ɛmaː
Noun
dilemma n (plural dilemma's, diminutive dilemmaatje n)
- dilemma (between two alternatives)
Derived terms
- dilemmatisch
Finnish
Etymology
From Late Latin dilemma, from Ancient Greek δίλημμα (dílēmma).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈdilemːɑ/, [ˈdile̞mːɑ]
- Rhymes: -ilemːɑ
- Syllabification(key): di‧lem‧ma
Noun
dilemma
- dilemma (between two alternatives)
Declension
Inflection of dilemma (Kotus type 13/katiska, no gradation) | |||
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nominative | dilemma | dilemmat | |
genitive | dilemman | dilemmoiden dilemmoitten dilemmojen | |
partitive | dilemmaa | dilemmoita dilemmoja | |
illative | dilemmaan | dilemmoihin | |
singular | plural | ||
nominative | dilemma | dilemmat | |
accusative | nom. | dilemma | dilemmat |
gen. | dilemman | ||
genitive | dilemman | dilemmoiden dilemmoitten dilemmojen dilemmainrare | |
partitive | dilemmaa | dilemmoita dilemmoja | |
inessive | dilemmassa | dilemmoissa | |
elative | dilemmasta | dilemmoista | |
illative | dilemmaan | dilemmoihin | |
adessive | dilemmalla | dilemmoilla | |
ablative | dilemmalta | dilemmoilta | |
allative | dilemmalle | dilemmoille | |
essive | dilemmana | dilemmoina | |
translative | dilemmaksi | dilemmoiksi | |
instructive | — | dilemmoin | |
abessive | dilemmatta | dilemmoitta | |
comitative | — | dilemmoineen |
Possessive forms of dilemma (type katiska) | ||
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possessor | singular | plural |
1st person | dilemmani | dilemmamme |
2nd person | dilemmasi | dilemmanne |
3rd person | dilemmansa |
Italian
Etymology
From Ancient Greek δίλημμα (dílēmma).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /diˈlɛm.ma/
- Rhymes: -ɛmma
- Hyphenation: di‧lèm‧ma
Noun
dilemma m (plural dilemmi)
- dilemma (between two alternatives)
Related terms
- dilemmatico
Anagrams
- dammeli, dimmela
Turkish
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin dilemma, from Ancient Greek δίλημμα (dílēmma).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [di.lɛmːɑ]
Noun
dilemma (definite accusative dilemmayı, plural dilemmalar)
- dilemma
- Synonym: ikilem
Declension
Inflection | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nominative | dilemma | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Definite accusative | dilemmayı | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Singular | Plural | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nominative | dilemma | dilemmalar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Definite accusative | dilemmayı | dilemmaları | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dative | dilemmaya | dilemmalara | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locative | dilemmada | dilemmalarda | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ablative | dilemmadan | dilemmalardan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Genitive | dilemmanın | dilemmaların | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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