predicament
Americannoun
-
an unpleasantly difficult, perplexing, or dangerous situation.
-
a class or category of logical or philosophical predication.
-
Archaic. a particular state, condition, or situation.
noun
-
a perplexing, embarrassing, or difficult situation
-
obsolete logic one of Aristotle's ten categories of being
-
archaic a specific condition, circumstance, state, position, etc
Related Words
Predicament, dilemma, plight, quandary refer to unpleasant or puzzling situations. Predicament and plight stress more the unpleasant nature, quandary and dilemma the puzzling nature of the situation. Predicament and plight are sometimes interchangeable; plight, however, though originally meaning peril or danger, is seldom used today except laughingly: When his suit wasn't ready at the cleaners, he was in a terrible plight. Predicament, though likewise capable of being used lightly, may also refer to a really crucial situation: Stranded in a strange city without money, he was in a predicament. Dilemma, in popular use, means a position of doubt or perplexity in which one is faced by two equally undesirable alternatives: the dilemma of a hostess who must choose between offending her anti-drinking guests or disappointing those who expected cocktails. Quandary is the state of mental perplexity of one faced with a difficult situation: There seemed to be no way out of the quandary.
Other Word Forms
- predicamental adjective
- predicamentally adverb
Etymology
Origin of predicament
First recorded in 1350–1400; 1580–90 predicament for def. 1; Middle English, from Late Latin praedicāmentum “something predicated, asserted,” derivative of praedicāre. See predicate, -ment
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In both films, Byrne plays a down-on-her-luck mother trying to make the best of an impossible predicament, rallying against systemic failure while fighting to keep her head above water.
From Salon • Mar. 22, 2026
The allies may come to regret their short-term Schadenfreude about Mr. Trump’s Hormuz predicament.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026
Van de Ven said suggestions that Spurs players are not bothered by their predicament "brings so much more trouble" because supporters are "starting to believe" them.
From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026
She’s hardly in a position to do much more than accept what’s going on as a grimmer version of her own dead-end predicament.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026
Sing of its two cartridges, one for typing and one for correcting, that so eloquently represented her predicament, poised between the print of genetics and the Wite-Out of surgery.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
