QUANDARY

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does quandary mean? 

• QUANDARY (noun)
  The noun QUANDARY has 2 senses:

1. a situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one

2. state of uncertainty or perplexity especially as requiring a choice between equally unfavorable options

  Familiarity information: QUANDARY used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• QUANDARY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Synonyms:

plight; predicament; quandary

Context example:

the woeful plight of homeless people

Hypernyms ("quandary" is a kind of...):

difficulty (a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "quandary"):

care (a cause for feeling concern)

box; corner (a predicament from which a skillful or graceful escape is impossible)

hot water (a dangerous or distressing predicament)

Sense 2

Meaning:

State of uncertainty or perplexity especially as requiring a choice between equally unfavorable options

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

dilemma; quandary

Hypernyms ("quandary" is a kind of...):

perplexity (trouble or confusion resulting from complexity)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "quandary"):

double bind ((psychology) an unresolvable dilemma; situation in which a person receives contradictory messages from a person who is very powerful)

 Context examples 

The hunter, in turn, was in a quandary.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

It was his mate who relieved him from the quandary in which he found himself.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

"Well—the general air, the style, the self-possession, the—the—illusion—you know", laughed Laurie, breaking down and helping himself out of his quandary with the new word.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

You see, having said that if Meg married 'that Brooke' she shouldn't have a cent of her money, Aunt March was rather in a quandary when time had appeased her wrath and made her repent her vow.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)