Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of dilemma

35 similar words

Another word for dilemma is Catch-22. Other synonyms of dilemma are trouble, fix, jam, bind and quandary.

Synonyms and similar words for dilemma

nounAny difficult circumstance or problem.

  • bindA troublesome situation; a problem; a predicament or quandary.
  • fixA difficult situation; a quandary or dilemma; a predicament.
  • pickleA difficult situation; peril.
  • problem
  • quandaryA state of not knowing what to decide; a state of difficulty or perplexity; a state of uncertainty, hesitation or...
  • ass in a sling vulgarAn uncomfortable personal state of affairs involving injury, defeat, or other trouble, especially a state of affairs...
  • bucket of syrupA sticky, difficult situation.
  • calvary
  • cauldronAn unsettled or difficult situation or place.
  • cross figuratively
  • cross to bearA problem, or unpleasant or painful situation or person that one has to accept and deal with, although one finds it...
  • difficulty
  • dire straitsA difficult position or situation.
  • doghouse
  • hole
  • jamA difficult situation.
  • kettle
  • kettle of fishAn awkward situation.
  • ordeal
  • pinchAn awkward situation of some kind (especially money or social) which is difficult to escape.
  • plight
  • predicament
  • quagmireA perilous, mixed up and troubled situation; a hopeless tangle.
  • situationA difficult or unpleasant set of circumstances; a problem.
  • spotA difficult situation.
  • spot of botherA slight problem; a small predicament.
  • sticky situationA difficult or unfortunate situation.
  • sticky wicketA difficult or unpredictable situation.
  • tight spotA difficult position.
  • troubleA distressing or dangerous situation.

nounMore synonyms

  • Catch-22A difficult situation from which there is no escape because it involves mutually conflicting or dependent conditions.
  • Hobson's choiceA choice between several undesirable options; Sophie's choice.
  • Morton's forkA false dilemma in which contradictory arguments lead to the same (unpleasant) conclusion.
  • no-win situation
  • Sophie's choiceA choice where every alternative has significant negative consequences.

Meaning of dilemma

  1. noun A circumstance in which a choice must be made between two or more alternatives that seem equally undesirable.
  2. noun Any difficult circumstance or problem.
  3. 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".

Full definition of dilemma

dilemma in other languages

Questions about synonyms of dilemma

What is another word for dilemma?
Dilemma has 35 synonyms on Word.ws, such as Catch-22, trouble, fix, jam, bind, quandary, situation and pinch.
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 of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of dilemma.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/dilemma. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.