dilemma

noun

di·​lem·​ma də-ˈle-mə 

also dī-

1

a

: a usually undesirable or unpleasant choice

faces this dilemma: raise prices or reduce staff

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."

—James MacGregor 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

dilemmatic

ˌdi-lə-ˈma-tik 

also ˌdī-

adjective

Usage of Dilemma

Although some commentators insist that dilemma be restricted to instances in which the alternatives to be chosen are equally unsatisfactory, their concern is misplaced; the unsatisfactoriness of the options is usually a matter of how the author presents them. What is distressing or painful about a dilemma is having to make a choice one does not want to make. The use of such adjectives as terrible, painful, and irreconcilable suggests that dilemma is losing some of its unpleasant force.

Synonyms of dilemma

• problem
• quandary

Examples of dilemma in a Sentence

When it comes to the boss, there is a real dilemma. You're caught between a career-limiting rejection of virtual friendship or a career-limiting access to photos of yourself glassy-eyed at a party. —Jared Sandberg, Wall Street Journal, 10 July 2007

What's a pampered 20-something to do when her rich fiancé goes on a business trip and comes back married to someone else? That's the dilemma facing Elle Medina in Nichols's delightfully silly, vivacious debut. —Publishers Weekly, 28 June 2004

Both authors are prepared to dwell as long on the savor of a ripe melon as on the significance of a moral dilemma. —Roger Shattuck, New York Review of Books, 13 June 2002

The country's decision to go to war has caused a major dilemma for its allies.

We're facing a terrible dilemma.

I don't know what to do; it's a real dilemma.

Recent Examples on the Web

This dilemma was inspired during lockdown, when my flatmate was listening to the audiobook of Bleak House. —Literary Hub, 10 Nov. 2025

The National Gallery of London is hosting the first major exhibition of 18th-century painter Joseph Wright, whose works captured the moral dilemma of scientific progress at the dawn of the industrial age. —Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 10 Nov. 2025

At Barton Creek Technologies, Anna Chen, the chief human resources officer, faces a dilemma over the company’s performance improvement plan (PIP). —Harvard Business Review, 8 Nov. 2025

True moral dilemmas, which become tangled in ways that seem impossible to unravel, with his private life. —Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 6 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin, from Late Greek dilēmmat-, dilēmma, probably back-formation from Greek dilēmmatos involving two assumptions, from di- + lēmmat-, lēmma assumption — more at lemma

First Known Use

1523, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Phrases Containing dilemma

• on the horns of a dilemma

Rhymes for dilemma

• oedema
• angioedema
• emma
• gemma
• lemma
• lymphedema
• papilledema
• plasmalemma
• sarcolemma

Kids Definition

dilemma

noun

di·​lem·​ma də-ˈlem-ə 

also dī-

: a situation in which one has to choose between two or more things, ways, or plans that are equally unsatisfactory : a difficult choice