as in predicament
a very bad or difficult situation
—usually singular
The recent cut in funding will only contribute to the hospital's financial plight. the plight of the unemployed
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Recent Examples of plight
Ann Larson, Time, 11 June 2026
The plight of his friend moved Byers.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 8 June 2026
Gina Lee Castro, Journal Sentinel, 11 Oct. 2024
Not for months, but for years, plighting their troth.
—Guy Martin, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for plight
Noun
Advertisement Occasionally, the plight of elderly retail workers breaks into popular culture.
—Ann Larson, Time, 11 June 2026
The plight of his friend moved Byers.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 8 June 2026
Verb
Latino history in the U.S. is plighted with systemic issues from mass deportations in the 1920s and 1930s, to poor working conditions for farm workers, to segregated schools, to arrests and stereotypes during the war on drugs.
—Gina Lee Castro, Journal Sentinel, 11 Oct. 2024
Not for months, but for years, plighting their troth.
—Guy Martin, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for plight
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plight
Noun
-
The Riverdale alum explains his character's complicated predicament, which leads to his unraveling.—
Gerrad Hall,
Entertainment Weekly,
13 June 2026
-
This was the experience of one Reddit user, who explained their predicament in a post asking for advice.—
Michele Laufik,
Martha Stewart,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
For the first time in World Cup history, a host nation is at war with one of its participants, though an agreement to halt the conflict suddenly looks promising.—
Julia Vargas Jones,
CNN Money,
14 June 2026
-
The funding will also allow the company to manufacture doses of its vaccine in parallel so that larger phase 2/3 trials can begin quickly if phase 1 data are promising.—
Paul Adepoju,
Scientific American,
14 June 2026
Noun
-
As Kate Niederhoffer and Jeffrey Hancock note in Harvard Business Review, forced AI adoption amid layoffs breeds resistance, anxiety, and plummeting morale.—
Steve Denning,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
-
Many children manage anxiety with therapy and medication.—
Kimberly Zapata,
Parents,
14 June 2026
Verb
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When Doug Herbert’s teenage sons died in a car crash, the multi-time Top Fuel drag racing champion vowed to make sure other families never face the same heartbreak.—
AZCentral.com,
AZCentral.com,
11 Dec. 2025
-
There is not yet a clear path to peace as Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul vowed to continue to fight and Cambodia's powerful Senate President Hun Sen promised a fierce response.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
That burst of noise is really the main drawback to this vacuum, but its multitude of helpful features vastly outweigh this minor inconvenience.—
Brittany VanDerBill,
Better Homes & Gardens,
4 Dec. 2025
-
Local media reports Spring Airlines Japan compensated each passenger 10,000 yen, or about $64 USD, for the inconvenience.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
2 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
In order to secure the loan, Chapman mortgaged the property with her brother Edward Chapman, who is also CEO of Marchesa.—
Natalia Senanayake,
PEOPLE,
17 Oct. 2025
-
All of those general managers, at one point or another, mortgaged the future for the present.—
Josh Yohe,
New York Times,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The new film, which is both written and directed by the franchise’s longtime screenwriter John Hamburg, sees Grande play Olivia Jones, the fiancé of Pam and Greg Focker’s son who now has to endure the tribulations of meeting the parents (and grandparents) before joining the family.—
Christian Zilko,
IndieWire,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Initially unsure of one another, Agnes and Daisy must nevertheless weather the common tribulations of girlhood together, which take on nightmarish new valences inside Gilead.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The two got engaged in 2014 and have remained affianced since.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
Peoplemag,
5 May 2023
-
Alexandra Crotin, a rep for Stone, later confirmed to USA TODAY the actress and writer are now affianced.—
Charles Trepany,
USA TODAY,
5 Dec. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Plight.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plight. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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