dilemma

(dĭ-lĕm'ə)
n.

1. A situation that requires a choice between options that are or seem equally unfavorable or mutually exclusive.
2. Usage Problem. A problem that seems to defy a satisfactory solution.
3. Logic. An argument that presents two alternatives, each of which has the same consequence.

[Late Latin, from Greek dilēmma, ambiguous proposition : di-, two; see di-¹ + lēmma, proposition; see lemma¹.]

dilemmatic dil'em·mat'ic (dĭl'ə-măt'ĭk) adj.

USAGE NOTE   A dilemma is a situation in which a choice must be made between alternative courses of action or argument. Although citational evidence attests to widespread use of the term meaning simply "problem" or "predicament" and involving no issue of choice, 58 percent of the Usage Panel in our 1999 survey rejected the sentence Historically, race has been the great dilemma of democracy. • It is sometimes claimed that because the di- in dilemma comes from a Greek prefix meaning "two," the word should be used only when exactly two choices are involved. Nevertheless, 64 percent of the Usage Panel in our 1988 survey accepted its use for choices among three or more options.

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is now more usually pronounced with the first syllable rhyming with die. The correct meaning is 'a choice between two undesirable alternatives' and has its origin in rhetoric and logic, where it relates to a special kind of argument involving two unfavourable choices. It should not be used as a mere synonym of difficulty, problem, and similar words, although overlap in meanings will often blur the distinction. Examples: (correct)

The dilemma is logically insoluble: we cannot sacrifice either freedom or the organization needed for its defence—Isaiah Berlin, 1949

It is possible to raise only one cheer for user charges as a means of avoiding the dilemma of cutting public services or increasing taxes—Times, 1976

(questionable) He was caught in a dilemma, a choice between doing a show or going on a much-needed vacation—D. Halberstam, 1979

Three corridors: one to the left, one ahead, one to the right...'Dilemma. Left, right or centre?'—Dirk Bogarde, 1980

Mr Salmond has a dilemma: if he cancels the trams, he is thwarting the will of parliament, but if he allows it to go ahead he will be going against the will of his party—Scotsman, 2007.

A moral dilemma is a choice between two morally questionable courses of action:

He would tell children a story with a moral dilemma. He would ask them to tell him 'who is naughtier': a boy who accidentally broke fifteen cups or a boy who breaks one cup trying to reach a jam jar when his mother is not around—Selfhelp Magazine, 2004

Ashanti has a moral dilemma. Should she tell her best friend Trina that her boyfriend is sleeping with new girl on the block Donna?—Guardian, 2005

(a genuine dilemma since both telling and not telling involve moral difficulties). In many cases, the context does not enable us to judge whether the usage is strictly correct, because not enough details are given for this:

That a rising young officer with an eye for suspicious behaviour might have moral dilemmas is tantalisingly never explored—Sunday Times, 2005.

As a working rule, however, moral dilemma should not be used where clearly only a single moral difficulty is involved.

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noun

A difficult, often embarrassing situation or condition: box¹, corner, deep water, difficulty, Dutch, fix, hole, hot spot, hot water, jam, plight¹, predicament, quagmire, scrape, soup, trouble. Informal bind, pickle, spot. See easy/hard.

n

Definition: crisis
Antonyms: miracle, solution, wonder

The simplest form of a dilemma is an argument of the form: ‘If p then q, if not-p then q, so in any event q.’ More complex forms were traditionally distinguished. A constructive dilemma is of the form: ‘If p then r, if q then r, but either p or q, so r.’ A destructive dilemma is of the form: ‘If p then q, and if p then r, but either not-q or not-r, so not-p.’ The two conditional premises of a dilemma are called its horns. Escaping between the horns of the dilemma is denying the disjunction ‘p or q’; taking it by the horns is denying one of the conditionals. The notion generalizes to trilemmas, in which there are three horns (see, for example, Bayle's trilemma). For other dilemmas see Euthyphro dilemma, moral dilemmas, prisoners' dilemma.

IN BRIEF: A difficult choice between things that are equally unpleasant.

Nuclear war is not a military problem; it is a moral dilemma. — King Hussein (1935-1999).

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For a list of words related to dilemma, see:

• Logic - dilemma: syllogism in which major premise contains two or more conditional propositions and minor premise is a disjunction

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See words rhyming with "dilemma."

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - dilemma, knibe

Nederlands (Dutch)
tweestrijd, dilemma

Français (French)
n. - dilemme

Deutsch (German)
n. - Dilemma, Bedrängnis, Zwiespalt

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - δίλημμα

Italiano (Italian)
dilemma

Português (Portuguese)
n. - dilema (m)

Русский (Russian)
дилемма

Español (Spanish)
n. - dilema, tipo de silogismo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - dilemma

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
困境, 进退两难, 两难推理, 两刀论法

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 困境, 進退兩難, 兩難推理, 兩刀論法

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 양단 논법, 궁지

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - ジレンマ, 窮地

idioms:

• on the horns of a dilemma    進退きわまって

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) حاله يجب على شخص أن يختار بين بديلين غير مرغوب فيهما, حيرة, ورطه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מצב של צורך לבחור בין שתי אפשרויות, דילמה, תסבוכת, מצב קשה‬

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