Dilemma: A Choice Between Two Bad Options
A dilemma is a difficult choice between alternatives, both of them unwelcome. Strictly there should be exactly two, and the two are what the word is built on.
A dilemma is a situation forcing a choice between options that are all unattractive. The *di* means two, so strict usage limits it to a pair. In practice English uses it for any hard choice, and dictionaries now record that wider sense.
- A difficult choice between two options. *He faced a genuine dilemma.*
- Any awkward predicament. *The dilemma of what to say.*
- A form of argument with two branches (logic). *A classic dilemma.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | dilemma | An ethical dilemma. |
| Plural | dilemmas | Repeated dilemmas. |
| Related | trilemma | A three-way trilemma. |
| Related | predicament | An awkward predicament. |
| Related | quandary | In a quandary. |
How it is used in a sentence
- She was caught in a dilemma of her own making.Caught in is the usual verb.
- The prisoner's dilemma is a classic problem in game theory.Two people must choose without knowing what the other will do.
- It presents an ethical dilemma for the profession.Common in medicine and law.
Dilemma, quandary, predicament and problem
- Dilemma — a choice between unattractive options, strictly two
- Quandary — uncertainty about what to do
- Predicament — an unpleasant situation, with or without a choice
- Problem — anything needing a solution
- On the horns of a dilemma — the old image of a bull with two equally dangerous horns
From Greek *dilemma*, from *di* (two) and *lemma*, a premise taken. It came into English through rhetoric, where a dilemma was an argument that trapped an opponent whichever branch they chose.
Must a dilemma have exactly two options?
Strictly yes, and careful writers keep to it. Dictionaries now accept the looser sense of any difficult choice.
What is the prisoner's dilemma?
A scenario where two people acting in their own interest both end up worse off than if they had cooperated.