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
That’s a very distasteful election-year predicament for many.
—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 31 Mar. 2026
Officer Rory lets Greg go, but the combination of the walk and thinking about his daughter’s predicament has bummed him out.
—Erin Qualey, Vulture, 30 Mar. 2026
Joshua Stamper, speaking for the department under the pesticide management area, said Minnesota has found itself in a predicament of increasing a practice that is looked on as positive, adding acres of cover crops, yet that increase is met with a reliance on a product deemed unsafe.
—Michael Johnson, Twin Cities, 30 Mar. 2026
Experts sometimes have difficulty explaining what caused this predicament.
—Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for predicament
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 31 Mar. 2026
Officer Rory lets Greg go, but the combination of the walk and thinking about his daughter’s predicament has bummed him out.
—Erin Qualey, Vulture, 30 Mar. 2026
Joshua Stamper, speaking for the department under the pesticide management area, said Minnesota has found itself in a predicament of increasing a practice that is looked on as positive, adding acres of cover crops, yet that increase is met with a reliance on a product deemed unsafe.
—Michael Johnson, Twin Cities, 30 Mar. 2026
Experts sometimes have difficulty explaining what caused this predicament.
—Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for predicament
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predicament
Noun
-
Such local sites focus on a small group of people who happened to live in a certain place at a certain time—and who, for that fleeting moment, came to stand in for the dilemmas of the nation at large.—
Beverly Gage,
The Atlantic,
5 Apr. 2026
-
For the present, we’re saddled with the unwieldy dilemma of there being eight major Democratic candidates and just two Republicans.—
George Skelton,
Mercury News,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Serve over rice with yogurt and achaar (or whatever pickle-y thing is around).—
Nina Moskowitz,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Over the decades, children have given up everything from sunflower seeds to pickles.—
Elliot Mann,
Twin Cities,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Predicament.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predicament. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
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