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
And with that comes a miserable, complicated, and ironically unenviable predicament for general manager Mike Grier.
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Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 30 Dec. 2025
Her predicament reconnects her with her professional wrestler father (Nick Offerman) and former Hooters waitress mom, played by Michelle Pfeiffer.
—Lucy Ford, Time, 27 Dec. 2025
The securitization cycle has placed Iran, the region, and NATO countries, particularly the United States, in a complex and self-reinforcing predicament.
—Mohammad Javad Zarif, Foreign Affairs, 22 Dec. 2025
Was that influenced by your legal predicament?
—Hernan Lopez, Variety, 20 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for predicament
Recent Examples of Synonyms for predicament
Noun
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Readers send Miss Manners not only their table and party questions, but those involving the more complicated aspects of life - romance, work, family relationships, child-rearing, death - as well as philosophical and moral dilemmas.—
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Rodríguez’s dilemma is compounded by the collapse of traditional military command.—
Noun
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UConn fan Bryan Penfield challenged fans to drink the pickle juice-electrolyte drink and make a donation to the Husky Ticket Project.—
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Its love interest is a pickle salesman—utterly charming!—
Cite this Entry
“Predicament.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/predicament. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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