How to use dilemma in a sentence
40 example sentences · noun
Dilemma means a circumstance in which a choice must be made between two or more alternatives that seem equally undesirable. Example: “He approached the moral dilemma casuistically, not abstractly from first principles.”
More sentences with dilemma
- He approached the moral dilemma casuistically, not abstractly from first principles.From the entry casuistically
- An unstated assumption of the prisoner’s dilemma is that the parties will actually make a deal.From the entry unstated
- It was with great intrepitude that they were able to overcome the dilemma.From the entry intrepitude
- Research on Esperanto is accompanied by a dilemma that has the character of a catch-22 situation.2022, Sabine Fiedler, Cyril Robert Brosch, “Methods and data” (chapter 5), in Esperanto – Lingua Franca and Language Community, John…. From the entry catch-22
- So, several figures inside Trumpworld have been wrestling with the very dilemma that animated my fictional characters.2018 September 7, Jonathan Freedland, “If you were in the White House, how would you tackle Trump?”, in The Guardian. From the entry Trumpworld
- The shifting shapes mimicked the dilemma of the nearly clueless mystery of the Higgins Grove murders.2010, Kathleen Newberg, Faux Finish, page 97. From the entry clueless
- From this dilemma, there arose a series of studies of the artist in his studio.2010, Sudhir Patwardhan, Ranjit Hoskote, Sakshi Gallery, Sudhir Patwardhan, page 25. From the entry behalfism
- But her reactions to Lord Byron, riven beyond ambivalence, are a primer of the female-Byronist dilemma.2010 October 18, Susan J. Wolfson, Romantic Interactions: Social Being and the Turns of Literary Action, JHU Press, →ISBN. From the entry Byronist
- Yolanda's fluctuation between mestizo and ladino is symptomatic of this analytical dilemma.2006, Charles R. Hale, More Than an Indian, School for Advanced Research on the, →ISBN. From the entry ladino
- To circumwent this dilemma, another strategy was conceived to target oncogenic RAS proteins.2005, Wolfgang Arthur Schulz, Molecular Biology of Human Cancers: An Advanced Student's Textbook, Dordrecht: Springer, →ISBN, →OCLC, page…. From the entry circumwent
- This study of the Heinz dilemma has led to the literature on the ethics of care.2004, Ananta Kumar Giri, Creative Social Research: Rethinking Theories and Methods, Lexington Books, →ISBN, page 93. From the entry Heinz dilemma
- He was sorely vexed by his dilemma, so much so that he couldn't get to sleep.2002, No Sheds, “Native American Corner...”, in uk.rec.humour (Usenet). From the entry IGMC
- In other words, he believes in bottom-up, decentralized solutions to the dilemmas that arise in cyberspace.2002, Terry Halbert, Elaine Ingulli, CyberEthics, Mason, O.H.: West, →ISBN, page 22. From the entry cybertarian
- These locations reflect the dilemma and uneasy compromise between desirable, yet mutually exclusive features.2000, Markus M. L. Crepaz, Thomas Albert Koelble, David Wilsford, Democracy and Institutions: The Life Work of Arend Lijphart, page 79. From the entry consensualism
- This talk of pre-Einsteinian and Einsteinian worlds reveals another facet to the dilemma between the two interlocutors.1997, Floyd Merrell, “Rules are There to be Broken?”, in Peirce, Signs, and Meaning (Toronto Studies in Semiotics), Toronto, Ont.…. From the entry Einsteinian
- The dilemma was how to propose a big tax cut and still look credible.1996 November 17, “Whatever”, in Newsweek, retrieved 28 May 2015. From the entry deathbed conversion
- Work—bureaucratic work in particular—poses a series of intractable dilemmas that often demand compromises with traditional moral beliefs.1988, Robert Jackall, “Chapter 1: Moral Probations, Old and New”, in Moral Mazes: The World of Corporate Managers, Twentieth Anniversary…. From the entry intractable
- Our proposed definitional approach to the data processing-communications dilemma evoked considerable discussion.1980 May 2, “In the Matter of Amendment of Section 64.702 of the Commission’s Rules and Regulations (Second Computer Inquiry): Final…. From the entry approach
- They are seeking to escape from the unpleasant implications of an untenable status dilemma.1970, Gary Schwartz, Sect Ideologies and Social Status, page 219. From the entry untenable
- This kind of bluster is certain to lead into an impossible dilemma.1956, Harry S. Truman, Memoirs of Harry S. Truman: Years of Trial And Hope, volume II, Doubleday & Company, →OCLC, pages 345–346. From the entry Moscow
- The official world, the corridors of power, the dilemmas of conscience and egotism—she disliked them all.1956, C. P. Snow, chapter 22, in Homecomings (Strangers and Brothers). From the entry corridors of power
- Standard-issue liberal guilt and hand-wringingly uninteresting dilemmas are the order of the day, with no real surprises or challenges.2016 January 7, Peter Bradshaw, “A War review – standard issue Afghan war drama”, in the Guardian, →ISSN. From the entry order of the day
- However, when present, it poses a diagnostic dilemma to clinicians, as little help comes from gastroenteroscopy and imaging.2014 July 25, Rohit Mehra, Aswini K. Pujahari, Shyam S. Jaiswal, “Duodenal heterotopic pancreatic tissue: a case report and literature…. From the entry gastroenteroscopy
- This touches upon the real dilemmas that are now posed for those contemplating the intoxicative practices of late modern capitalist societies.2013, Paul Manning, Drugs and Popular Culture in the Age of New Media, page 201. From the entry intoxicative
- Conversely, if life gives you a dilemma, make dilemmanade.2013, Nathan Richendollar, Sic Semper Res Publica, →ISBN, page 123. From the entry dilemmanade
- These are the wonders and dilemmas of genuine exploitation cinema: Wishman is wish fulfillment for every fan of trash extravaganzas.2007, Steven Jay Schneider, 501 Movie Directors, B.E.S. Publishing. From the entry trash
- Riley's comments capture the dilemma that many UUs confront.2004, Kate Tweedie Erslev, Full circle: fifteen ways to grow lifelong UUs, Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, page 2. From the entry UU
- Notice that this creates a dilemma for the Adventurer.1999 May, Mason Malmuth, “Free Bets and Other Topics”, in Gambling Theory and Other Topics, Las Vegas, Nev.: [Creel Printers for] Two Plus…. From the entry snow
- Cybernews creates some dilemmas for print journalism.1998, Richard Davis, Diana Marie Owen, New media and American politics. From the entry cybernews
- A haymishe but thoroughly regressive, look at dilemmas past.1988 June 10, Anthony Adler, “Berlin, Jerusalem and the Moon”, in Chicago Reader. From the entry haymishe
- The transliterator’s first dilemma, then, is “Hanukkah” vs.1986 April 28, J[onathan] J[eremy] Goldberg, “Anyway you spell it, it still means ‘terror’”, in The Central New Jersey Home News, New…. From the entry transliterator
- The dilemma of experimental algesimetry can be characterized as follows.1986, Kay Brune, Agents and Actions Supplements, page 35. From the entry algesimetry
- In this dilemma, indirect communications provide a useful compromise.1974, Thomas S. Szasz, M.D., chapter 8, in The Myth of Mental Illness, →ISBN, pages 139–140. From the entry indirect
- Thus was he impaled on the horns of a dilemma.1902, Basil Thomson, “Westward Ho!”, in Savage Island: An Account of a Sojourn in Niué and Tonga, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, pages…. From the entry on the horns of a dilemma
- He presents Hitler’s rise as an element of the collapse of a republic confronting dilemmas of globalization with imperfect instruments and flawed leaders.2018 June 14, Timothy Snyder, “How Did the Nazis Gain Power in Germany?”, in The New York Times. From the entry globalization
- Some of the best pre-mortems for Steve Ballmer, out-going CEO of Microsoft, have chalked up the company's problem to the "innovator's dilemma."2013 August 28, Derek Thompson, “How Goliaths Beat Themselves: Microsoft's Mobile Failure and the Innovator's Dilemma”, in The Atlantic. From the entry chalk up to
- Sagan faced an excruciating dilemma: Should he remain true to his naturalistic philosophy and reject the marrow graft as something acquired by immoral means?2011, Charles Colson, Nancy Pearcey, How Now Shall We Live?. From the entry excruciating
- I focus on communal descriptive problems—what I call American race talk dilemmas—rather than on all the lightheartednesses and small triumphs of daily life at Columbus.2009, Mica Pollock, Colormute: Race Talk Dilemmas in an American School, →ISBN, page x. From the entry lightheartedness
- But the dilemmas facing douglas and their parents are often different: being born dougla is not the same as choosing intermarriage and bearing a dougla.2002, Yasurō Hase, Hiroyuki Miyake, Fumiko Oshikawa, South Asian migration in comparative perspective, movement, settlement and diaspora. From the entry Dougla
- Assimilationist ideology of late has been refurbished by a neoliberal policy of multiculturalism, affording us a schizoid if pragmatic optic to handle this racializing dilemma.2002, E. San Juan Jr., Racism and Cultural Studies, →ISBN. From the entry superminority
Meaning of dilemma
- noun A circumstance in which a choice must be made between two or more alternatives that seem equally undesirable.
- noun Any difficult circumstance or problem.
- noun A type of syllogism of the form "if A is true then B is true; if C is true then D is true; either A or C is true; therefore either B or D is true".
Questions about dilemma in a sentence
- How do you use dilemma in a sentence?
- Dilemma is used as a noun. For example: “He approached the moral dilemma casuistically, not abstractly from first principles.”
- What is a short sentence with dilemma?
- “Cybernews creates some dilemmas for print journalism.”
- What does dilemma mean?
- Dilemma means a circumstance in which a choice must be made between two or more alternatives that seem equally undesirable.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: dilemma (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this page: “How to use dilemma in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/dilemma. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
