predicament

English

Alternative forms

• prædicament (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English predicament, from Old French predicament and Medieval Latin prēdicāmentum, from Late Latin praedicāmentum (“that which is predicated, a predicament, category”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pɹɪˈdɪkəmənt/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Noun

predicament (plural predicaments)

1. A definite class, state or condition.
2. An unfortunate or trying position or condition.

   Synonyms: tight spot; see also Thesaurus:difficult situation

   • 1978, Daniel Bell, The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism, page xv (20th edition):

     Culture, for me, is the effort to provide a coherent set of answers to the existential predicaments that confront all human beings in the passage of their life.

   • 2011 December 10, Marc Higginson, “Bolton 1 - 2 Aston Villa”, in BBC Sport‎:

     The Midlanders will hope the victory will kickstart a campaign that looked to have hit the buffers, but the sense of trepidation enveloping the Reebok Stadium heading into the new year underlines the seriousness of the predicament facing Owen Coyle's men.

3. (logic) That which is predicated; a category.

Derived terms

Related terms

• preach
• predicate

Translations

See also

• can of worms
• difficulty
• kettle of fish
• tight spot
• trouble

Further reading

• “predicament”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “predicament”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “predicament”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French prédicament, from Old French predicament, from Late Latin praedicāmentum.

Noun

predicament n (plural predicamente)

1. predicament

Declension