Synonyms of quandary

quandary

noun

ˈkwän-d(ə-)rē 

as in dilemma

a situation in which one has to choose between two or more equally unsatisfactory choices

I'm in a quandary about whether I should try to repair my stereo or buy a new one, even though I don't have the money to do either

Synonyms & Similar Words

• dilemma
• problem
• double bind
• catch-22
• impasse
• difficulty
• predicament
• quagmire
• deadlock
• stalemate
• pickle
• standoff
• plight
• bind
• jam
• fix
• pinch
• knot
• spot
• hole

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• breeze
• snap
• cinch
• duck soup

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of quandary

For the Fed, the various economic signals have posed a quandary. — Jeff Cox, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2026

In no agency have the stakes of this quandary been higher than in the Department of Justice, whose mission is to uphold the rule of law. — Eyal Press, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026

That leaves the Clay Institute, and the field of mathematics, in a bit of a quandary. — Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 8 Sep. 2026

She’s played by Sofia Boutella in another one of the Schrader women roles who exists only as a prism to refract male anxieties, a foil to a man’s moral quandaries. — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2026