- a situation that makes problems, often one in which you have to make a very difficult choice between things of equal importance synonym predicament
- I could see no way of resolving this moral dilemma.
- The digital era brings new ethical dilemmas for journalists.
- in a dilemma They were caught in a real dilemma.
- dilemma about/over something She faced a dilemma about whether to accept the offer or not.
- dilemma between A and B the perennial dilemma between work and family commitments
Extra ExamplesTopics Preferences and decisionsc1- I couldn't see any way out of the dilemma.
- The dilemma facing the country's allies was even more serious.
- The dilemma over human cloning lies at the heart of the ethical choices facing society.
- The fundamental dilemma remains: in a tolerant society, should we tolerate intolerance?
- The minister is now in an impossible dilemma.
- This poses a difficult dilemma for teachers.
- the dilemma that arises when a doctor has to decide whether or not to prescribe an expensive treatment
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- acute
- appalling
- big
- …
- create
- pose
- present somebody with
- …
- arise
- occur
- lie
- …
- in a/the dilemma
- dilemma about
- dilemma over
- …
- a solution to a dilemma
- a way out of a dilemma
Word Originearly 16th cent. (denoting a form of argument involving a choice between equally unfavourable alternatives): via Latin from Greek dilēmma, from di- ‘twice’ + lēmma ‘premise’.Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
Idioms
See dilemma in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee dilemma in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishon the horns of a dilemma
- in a situation in which you have to make a choice between things that are equally unpleasant
- The medical profession’s eagerness for scientific advance had impaled it on the horns of a dilemma, forcing an unnatural choice between science and morality.
- The dire economic situation had placed the prime minister on the horns of a dilemma.
Check pronunciation:
dilemma