predicament
See also: prédicament
English
Alternative forms
- prædicament (obsolete)
Etymology
From Middle English predicament, from Old French predicament and Medieval Latin prēdicāmentum, from Late Latin praedicāmentum (“that which is predicated, a predicament, category”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pɹɪˈdɪkəmənt/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
Noun
predicament (plural predicaments)
- A definite class, state or condition.
- An unfortunate or trying position or condition.
- Synonyms: tight spot; see also Thesaurus:difficult situation
- 1978, Daniel Bell, The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism, page xv (20th edition):
- Culture, for me, is the effort to provide a coherent set of answers to the existential predicaments that confront all human beings in the passage of their life.
- 2011 December 10, Marc Higginson, “Bolton 1 - 2 Aston Villa”, in BBC Sport:
- The Midlanders will hope the victory will kickstart a campaign that looked to have hit the buffers, but the sense of trepidation enveloping the Reebok Stadium heading into the new year underlines the seriousness of the predicament facing Owen Coyle's men.
- (logic) That which is predicated; a category.
Related terms
- preach
- predicate
Translations
a definite class, state or condition
|
an unfortunate or trying position or condition
|
that which is predicated; a category
|
See also
- can of worms
- difficulty
- kettle of fish
- tight spot
- trouble
Further reading
- predicament in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- predicament in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911
- predicament at OneLook Dictionary Search
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from French prédicament, from Old French predicament, from Late Latin praedicāmentum.
Noun
predicament n (plural predicamente)
- predicament
Declension
Declension of predicament
singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite articulation | definite articulation | indefinite articulation | definite articulation | |
nominative/accusative | (un) predicament | predicamentul | (niște) predicamente | predicamentele |
genitive/dative | (unui) predicament | predicamentului | (unor) predicamente | predicamentelor |
vocative | predicamentule | predicamentelor |