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predicament Definition

pre·dica·ment (prē dik′ə mənt, pri-)

noun

  1. a condition or situation, now specif. one that is difficult, unpleasant, embarrassing, or, sometimes, comical
  2. Archaic category (sense )

Etymology: ME < LL(Ec) praedicamentum < L praedicare: see preach

predicament Synonyms

predicament

n.

quandary, plight, dilemma, strait, puzzle, perplexity, scrape, corner, hole, impasse, tight situation, state, condition, position, circumstance, mess, muddle, imbroglio, exigency, deadlock, pinch, crisis, difficulty, fix*, pickle*, bind*, hot water*, pretty kettle of fish*, jam*, spot*; see also difficulty 1, 2.

predicament implies a complicated, perplexing situation from which it is difficult to disentangle oneself; dilemma implies a predicament necessitating a choice between equally disagreeable alternatives; quandary emphasizes a state of great perplexity and uncertainty as to what to do; plight implies a distressing or unfortunate situation; fix and pickle are both colloquial terms loosely interchangeable with any of the preceding, although more precisely fix is equivalent to predicament and pickle, to plight

predicament Usage Examples

Preposition: of

people: The play depicts an authoritarian regime which mirrors the predicament of the French people of the time.

Possessives

  • character: The last word of the story is also the first word to suggest the circular pattern to the character's predicament.
  • man: The spirit of protest is that of the existential analysis of man's actual predicament.
  • family: I prefer to create a diagnostic formulation a summary of the family's predicament which includes psychosocial issues and relevant risk and resilience factors.
  • protagonist: Could these suggestions connect him as an unseen influence in the protagonist's current predicament?
  • enemy: I will not gloat over my enemies ' predicament before killing them.

Converse of object

  • understand: I hope you can understand the predicament I was in.
  • describe: And perhaps John Prescott might have sought a more precise metaphor to describe the predicaments of his Prime Minister.
  • face: Neighboring nations with bases vital to the US effort would face a terrible predicament.
  • see: So now you see the predicament of the woman in the story.
  • solve: Perhaps your study will work in helping solve that predicament.
  • address: Politically and socially, the internet, once fully developed and widely installed, could indeed offer Cameroonians many avenues to address current predicaments.

Adjective modifier

  • dire: What else can he do in his dire predicament?
  • terrible: With a reputation for charging in to help people in distress, Jo gets herself into some terrible predicaments.
  • human: This is at the root of the human predicament.
  • current: May Jesus find us a way through our current predicament.
  • similar: Visits to the internet forum Cycling Plus revealed others in a similar predicament.
  • present: Let us share a moment to reflect on our present predicament.

Modifies a noun

cannot: What the Auld Lichts would have done in a similar predicament I cannot even conjecture.