1 a
: a usually undesirable or unpleasant choice - faces this dilemma: raise interest rates and slow the economy or lower them and risk serious inflation
b
: a situation involving such a choice - here am I brought to a very pretty dilemma; I must commit murder or commit matrimony
- —George Farquhar
broadly
: predicament - lords and bailiffs were in a terrible dilemma
- —G. M. Trevelyan
2 a
: a problem involving a difficult choice - the dilemma of "liberty versus order"
- —J. M. Burns
b
: a difficult or persistent problem - unemployment … the great central dilemma of our advancing technology
- —August Heckscher
3
: an argument presenting two or more equally conclusive alternatives against an opponent
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dilemmatic
play
\ˌdi-lə-ˈma-tik also -ˌdī-\
adjective