as in dilemma
a difficult, puzzling, or embarrassing situation from which there is no easy escape
if you had told the truth in the first place, we wouldn't be in this predicament
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Recent Examples of predicament
After the January fires in Los Angeles County, Citizens’ California counterpart, known as the FAIR Plan, faced a similar predicament and had to be given a $1 billion buyout.
—
Peter Aldous, Miami Herald, 20 July 2025
Details of their past life emerge in fragments, with flashbacks to a life destroyed by armed conflict, and a sudden, heartbreaking unveiling of their true predicament in the final minutes of the film.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 4 Aug. 2025
That is a predicament that may force team chairperson Jim Crane to give the green light to some major moves at the July 31 trade deadline.
—Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 July 2025
The unusual legal predicament comes as lawyers for the Department of Justice are attempting to unseal sensitive grand jury transcripts related to Epstein and meet with Maxwell.
—Alexander Mallin, ABC News, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for predicament
Peter Aldous, Miami Herald, 20 July 2025
Details of their past life emerge in fragments, with flashbacks to a life destroyed by armed conflict, and a sudden, heartbreaking unveiling of their true predicament in the final minutes of the film.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 4 Aug. 2025
That is a predicament that may force team chairperson Jim Crane to give the green light to some major moves at the July 31 trade deadline.
—Jon Vankin, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 July 2025
The unusual legal predicament comes as lawyers for the Department of Justice are attempting to unseal sensitive grand jury transcripts related to Epstein and meet with Maxwell.
—Alexander Mallin, ABC News, 22 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for predicament
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predicament
Noun
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Bigelow and screenwriter Noah Oppenheim construct a frighteningly plausible scenario in which a multitude of dilemmas—practical and personal, bureaucratic and existential—overlap in real time and at a mounting rate.—
Jill Goldsmith,
Deadline,
5 Aug. 2025
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Recent tours to the U.S. have been trickier, leaving them with the dilemma of whether sleep is really that important as kick-off times stretch into the early hours.—
Art de Roché,
New York Times,
31 July 2025
Noun
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Order by the pound, or grab a sandwich with any of their meats served on a bun with pickles and homemade slaw.—
Carrie Honaker,
Travel + Leisure,
15 Aug. 2025
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Spoon 1/4 of the ground beef evenly across the top of the sheets, followed by shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, diced pickles and onions.—
Gretchen McKay,
Boston Herald,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Predicament.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predicament. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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