— predicamental /pri dik'euh men"tl, pred'i keuh-/ , adj. — predicamentally , adv.
/pri dik"euh meuhnt/ for 1, 3; /pred"i keuh meuhnt/ for 2 , n.
1. an unpleasantly difficult, perplexing, or dangerous situation.
2. a class or category of logical or philosophical predication.
3. Archaic. a particular state, condition, or situation.
[ 1350-1400; 1580-90 for def. 1; ME praedicamentum something predicated, asserted, deriv. of praedicare . See PREDICATE, -MENT ]
Syn. 1. PREDICAMENT, DILEMMA, PLIGHT, QUANDARY refer to unpleasant or puzzling situations.
PREDICAMENT and PLIGHT stress more the unpleasant nature, QUANDARY and DILEMMA the puzzling nature of the situation. PREDICAMENT and PLIGHT are sometimes interchangeable; PLIGHT, however, though originally meaning peril or danger, is seldom used today except laughingly: When his suit wasn't ready at the cleaners, he was in a terrible plight. PREDICAMENT, though likewise capable of being used lightly, may also refer to a really crucial situation: Stranded in a strange city without money, he was in a predicament.
DILEMMA, in popular use, means a position of doubt or perplexity in which one is faced by two equally undesirable alternatives: the dilemma of a hostess who must choose between offending her anti-drinking guests or disappointing those who expected cocktails. QUANDARY is the state of mental perplexity of one faced with a difficult situation: There seemed to be no way out of the quandary.