quandary

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quandary^¹

/ˈkwɒn.də.ɹi/ UK
/ˈkwɒn.dɹi/ UK
/kwɒnˈdɛə.ɹɪ/ UK, dated
/ˈkwɑn.də.ɹi/ US
/ˈkwɑn.dɹi/ US
/ˈkwɔn-/ US
/ˈkwɔn.də.ɹi/ Australia
/ˈkwɔn.dɹi/ Australia

Rhymes with -ɑndɹi

Where it comes from

16th century. Origin unknown; perhaps a dialectal corruption (simulating a word of Latin origin with suffix -ary) of wandreth (“evil, plight, peril, adversity, difficulty”), from Middle English wandreth, from Old Norse vandræði (“difficulty, trouble”), from vándr (“difficult, requiring pains and care”).

noun quandaries

A state of not knowing what to decide; a state of difficulty or perplexity; a state of uncertainty, hesitation or puzzlement; a dilemma, a difficult decision or choice. As a Hitchin signalman once pointed out to me, when a regulating quandary arises concerning a fast-moving Class A train there is no time to consult Control and get their answer before the express is on one's doorstep.
Similar: perplexity, pickle, predicament, uncertainty, Catch-22, dilemma, Hobson's choice, Morton's fork, no-win situation, quandary, Sophie's choice, ass in a sling

Quandary^²

proper noun

A locality in the Temora council area, central New South Wales, Australia.

Translations

Every language

noun a state of not knowing what to decide

Español	disyuntiva
Português	dilema, indecisão, impasse
Français	dilemme, embarras, perplexité, incertitude
Deutsch	Dilemma, verfahrene Situation, Zwickmühle, Verlegenheit
Italiano	dilemma
Русский	затруднительное положе́ние zatrudnitelʹnoje položénije, затрудне́ние zatrudnénije, недоуме́ние nedouménije

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MLA

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

APA

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

Chicago

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

BibTeX

@misc{quandary_2026,
  title = {quandary},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/quandary},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}