quandary

quan·da·ry

noun \ˈkwän-d(ə-)rē\

plural quan·da·ries

Definition of QUANDARY

: a state of perplexity or doubt

Examples of QUANDARY

1. The unexpected results of the test have created a quandary for researchers.
2. <I'm in a quandary about whether I should try to repair my stereo or buy a new one, even though I don't have the money to do either.>
3. Williams's quandary is not unlike that faced by other urban executives who have had to wrestle with a deeply rooted power structure. The problem is especially acute for African American mayors. They are expected to serve as sentries, protecting their cities' black communities and staving off so-called white encroachment. —Jonetta Rose Barras, Washington Post, 15 June 2003
4. For a sticky philosophical quandary, the questions are pretty simple: am I a clerk charged with selling college degrees or am I involved in a more meaningful experience? Part of me says that no argument is more worthy of my attention. —Lynne Drury Lerych, Newsweek, 9 Apr. 2001
5. … the inevitable economic quandary that faces a people in the transition from slavery to freedom, and especially those who make that change amid hate and prejudice, lawlessness and ruthless competition. —W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk, 1903

Origin of QUANDARY

origin unknown

First Known Use: 1579

Related to QUANDARY

Synonyms: catch-22, double bind, dilemma

Related Words: deadlock, impasse, quagmire, stalemate, standoff; knot, problem; bind, difficulty, fix, hole, jam, pickle, pinch, plight, predicament, spot

Near Antonyms: breeze, cinch, duck soup, snap

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