predicament
noun
pre·dic·a·ment
pri-ˈdi-kə-mənt 
sense 1 is usually ˈpre-di-kə-
1
: the character, status, or classification assigned by a predication
specifically
: category sense 1
Examples of predicament in a Sentence
The captain of archers fidgeted and coughed and rolled his eyes at his men, as if such cupidity and dishonor were an inevitable but minor aspect of the human predicament …
—
Michael Chabon, New York Times Magazine, 6 May 2007
We saw photographs that week of buildings burning, stunned onlookers, dust-covered firemen. Very few pictures conveyed the fact that people just like us, our fellow passengers on the subway, suddenly found themselves in a mortal predicament and many died horribly.
—Garrison Keillor, New York Times Book Review, 3 Sept. 2006
The President found himself in the backwash of earlier deals, and the demands of secrecy made his predicament the more vexing.
—Taylor Branch, Parting the Waters, 1988
The governor has gotten himself into quite a predicament.
I don't know how to get out of the predicament I'm in.
Michael Chabon, New York Times Magazine, 6 May 2007
We saw photographs that week of buildings burning, stunned onlookers, dust-covered firemen. Very few pictures conveyed the fact that people just like us, our fellow passengers on the subway, suddenly found themselves in a mortal predicament and many died horribly.
—Garrison Keillor, New York Times Book Review, 3 Sept. 2006
The President found himself in the backwash of earlier deals, and the demands of secrecy made his predicament the more vexing.
—Taylor Branch, Parting the Waters, 1988
The governor has gotten himself into quite a predicament.
I don't know how to get out of the predicament I'm in.
Recent Examples on the Web
California and other states have spent much of the past decade trying to get out of this predicament by undoing single-family zoning laws and streamlining permitting for apartments, backyard cottages and other higher-density housing.
—Conor Dougherty, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2025
Why Canned Wine? Archer Roose Wines, co-owned by chief creative officer and actress Elizabeth Banks and CEO Marian Leitner-Waldman, started with this predicament in mind.
—Bryce Jones, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Apr. 2025
Their successors might very well find themselves in a similar predicament soon.
— Made By History, Time, 2 Apr. 2025
Meloni knows that Italy benefits enormously from EU membership and that its fiscal predicament is fragile, given its monstrous public debt.
—Nathalie Tocci, Foreign Affairs, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for predicament
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Conor Dougherty, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2025
Why Canned Wine? Archer Roose Wines, co-owned by chief creative officer and actress Elizabeth Banks and CEO Marian Leitner-Waldman, started with this predicament in mind.
—Bryce Jones, Better Homes & Gardens, 10 Apr. 2025
Their successors might very well find themselves in a similar predicament soon.
— Made By History, Time, 2 Apr. 2025
Meloni knows that Italy benefits enormously from EU membership and that its fiscal predicament is fragile, given its monstrous public debt.
—Nathalie Tocci, Foreign Affairs, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for predicament
Cite this Entry
“Predicament.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/predicament. Accessed 26 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
predicament
noun
pre·dic·a·ment
pri-ˈdik-ə-mənt
: a difficult, puzzling, or trying situation : fix
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