dilemma

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dilemma

/daɪˈlɛmə/ Canada, US, UK
/dɪˈlɛmə/ Canada, US, UK
/dɑeˈlemə/ Australia
/dɪˈlemə/ Australia
/daɪˈlemə/ New Zealand
/dəˈlemə/ New Zealand

Rhymes with -ɛmə

Where it comes from

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”), equivalent to di- + lemma.

noun dilemmas · dilemmata

A circumstance in which a choice must be made between two or more alternatives that seem equally undesirable. A strong dilemma in a desperate case! / To act with infamy, or quit the place.
Any difficult circumstance or problem.
Similar: bind, fix, pickle, problem, quandary, ass in a sling, bucket of syrup, calvary, cauldron, cross, cross to bear, difficulty
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.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: quandary, paradox, contradiction, conundrum, trade-off, puzzle, predicament, choice, crisis, question, problem, challenge, difficulty, hardship, impasse, conflict

noun

Translations

Every language

noun in logic

Español	dilema
中文	二難推理 /二难推理 èrnántuīlǐ
Português	dilema
العربية	مُعْضِلَة muʕḍila
עברית	דילמה diléma

noun circumstance in which a choice must be made between two alternatives

Español	dilema, disyuntiva
한국어	딜레마 dillema
日本語	ジレンマ jirenma
中文	困境 kùnjìng, 進退兩難的境地 /进退两难的境地 jìntuìliǎngnán de jìngdì, 兩難 /两难 liǎngnán
हिन्दी	दुविधा duvidhā, संशय sañśay, असमंजस asmañjas
Português	dilema
Français	dilemme
Deutsch	Dilemma
Italiano	dilemma
Ελληνικά	δίλημμα dílimma
Română	dilemă
Русский	диле́мма dilémma
العربية	مُعْضِلَة muʕḍila
עברית	דילמה diléma

noun difficult circumstance

Español	dilema
中文	窘境 jiǒngjìng, 困境 kùnjìng
हिन्दी	दुविधा duvidhā, असमंजस asmañjas, संशय sañśay
Português	dilema
Italiano	dilemma
Русский	диле́мма dilémma
العربية	مِحْنَة miḥna
עברית	דילמה diléma

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MLA

"dilemma." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/dilemma. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

dilemma. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/dilemma

Chicago

"dilemma." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/dilemma.

BibTeX

@misc{dilemma_2026,
  title = {dilemma},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/dilemma},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}