plight
English · Thesaurus
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plight¹
- /plaɪt/
Rhymes with -aɪt
Where it comes from
From Middle English plit (“fold, wrinkle, bad situation”), conflation of Middle English pliht, plight (“risky promise, peril”) (from Old English pliht "danger, risk"; see Etymology 2) and Anglo-Norman plit, plyte (“fold, condition”), from Old French pleit (“condition, manner of folding”) (from Vulgar Latin *plictum, from Latin plicitum (“fold”)).
noun plights
- A dire or unfortunate situation. Though we say we are quite clear about it and understand when someone uses the expression, unlike that other expression, maybe we're in the same plight with regard to them both.
- A (neutral) condition or state. although hee live in as good plight and health as may be, yet he chafeth, he scoldeth, he brawleth, he fighteth, he sweareth, and biteth, as the most boistrous and tempestuous master of France[…].
- Good health. All wayes shee sought him to restore to plight, / With herbs, with charms, with counsel, and with teares[…].
plight²
- /plaɪt/
Rhymes with -aɪt
Where it comes from
From Middle English plight (“risk, danger”), from Old English pliht (“peril, risk, danger, damage, plight”), from Proto-West Germanic *plihti (“care, responsibility, duty”). A suffixed form of the root represented by Old English pleoh (“risk, danger, hurt, peril"; also "responsibility”) and plēon (“to endanger, risk”). Akin to Old English plihtan (“to endanger, compromise”). Cognate with Scots plicht (“responsibility, plight”), Dutch plicht, Low German Plicht (“duty”), German Pflicht (“duty”), Danish pligt (“duty”), Yiddish פֿליכט (flikht). More at pledge.
noun plights
- Responsibility for ensuing consequences; risk; danger; peril.
- An instance of danger or peril; a dangerous moment or situation.
- Blame; culpability; fault; wrong-doing; sin; crime.
- One's office; duty; charge.
- That which is exposed to risk; that which is plighted or pledged; security; a gage; a pledge. Haply, when I shall wed, That lord whose hand must take my plight shall carry Half my love with him, half my care and duty
verb plights · plighting · plighted
- To nominate an object of value as a security against a promise; to pledge something, as one's faith, trust, allegiance, or something symbolic of this. "Travel shall I and woo; Plight me shall I a flower; Try shall I my sword so good, To my weal or my woe in the stour."
- Specifically, to pledge (one's troth etc.) as part of a marriage ceremony.
- To promise (oneself) to someone, or to do something. I ask what I have done to deserve it, one daughter hobnobbing with radicals and the other planning to plight herself to a criminal.
plight³
- /plaɪt/
Rhymes with -aɪt
Where it comes from
From Middle English plyghten, plyȝten, pleyȝten, pleiten, pliten, from the noun (see below).
verb plights · plighting · plighted
- To weave; to braid; to fold; to plait. ſhe wore a plighted Garmend of divers colours,
plight⁴
- /plaɪt/
Rhymes with -aɪt
Where it comes from
From Middle English pliȝt, plight, plyt, pleit, from Anglo-Norman pleit (“pleat, fold”). More at plait.
noun plights
- A network; a plait; a fold; rarely a garment. Many a folded plight.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: predicament, quandary, engage, pledge, troth, affiance, betroth, misery, doom, despair, wretchedness, adversity, woe, distress, trouble, hardship
Translations
Every language
noun unfortunate situation
| Español | aprieto, tribulación, crisis, viacrucis, calvario, atrenzo |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 困境 Kùnjìng, 险境 xiǎnjìng |
| Português | dificuldade, apuro |
| Français | situation désespérée |
| Deutsch | Misere, Notlage, Bedrängnis |
| Italiano | difficoltà, brutta situazione |
noun condition or state
| Deutsch | Zustand |
|---|---|
| Русский | положе́ние položénije, состоя́ние sostojánije |
Talk about this word "plight." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/plight. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. plight. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/plight "plight." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/plight.Cite this
@misc{plight_2026,
title = {plight},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/plight},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
