| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | humiliation, shame |
| Synonyms: | awkward situation, awkwardness, bashfulness, bind, boo boo, chagrin, clumsiness, complexity, confusion, destitution, difficulty, dilemma, discomfiture, discomposure, disconcertion, distress, egg on face, faux pas, fix, hitch, hot seat, hot water, impecuniosity, indebtedness, indiscretion, inhibition, mess, mistake, mortification, pickle, pinch, plight, poverty, predicament, puzzle, quandary, scrape, self-consciousness, shyness, snag, stew, strait, tangle, timidity, unease, uneasiness |
| Antonyms: | comfort, confidence |
| Main Entry: | complication |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | difficult situation |
| Synonyms: | aggravation, complexity, confusion, development, difficulty, dilemma, drawback, embarrassment, entanglement, factor, intricacy, obstacle, problem, snag, web |
| Antonyms: | ease, peace, simplicity |
| Main Entry: | confusion |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | disorientation |
| Synonyms: | abashing, abashment, addling, agitation, befuddlement, befuddling, bemusement, bewilderment, blurring, chagrin, cluttering, commotion, confounding, demoralization, disarranging, discomfiting, discomfiture, disorientation, distraction, disturbing, dither, dumbfounding, embarrassing, embarrassment, embroiling, flap, fluster, lather, mixup mystification, obscuring, perplexing, perplexity, perturbation, pother, puzzlement, stew, stirring up, tangling, tumult, turbulence, turmoil, unsettling, upsetting |
| Antonyms: | clarity, order, organization, orientation, sense |
| Main Entry: | constraint |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | shyness |
| Synonyms: | bashfulness, diffidence, embarrassment, hang-up, humility, inhibition, modesty, repression, reservation, reserve, restraint, timidity |
| Antonyms: | aggression |
| Main Entry: | crisis |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | critical situation |
| Synonyms: | big trouble, catastrophe, change, climacteric, climax, confrontation, contingency, corner, crossroad, crunch, crux, culmination, deadlock, dilemma, dire straits, disaster, embarrassment, emergency, entanglement, exigency, extremity, height, hot potato, hour of decision, imbroglio, impasse, juncture, mess, moment of truth, necessity, pass, perplexity, pickle, pinch*, plight, point of no return, predicament, pressure, puzzle, quandary, situation, stew, strait, trauma, trial, trouble, turning point, urgency |
| Antonyms: | calm, peace |
| Main Entry: | defeat |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | overthrow, beating |
| Synonyms: | KO, ambush, annihilation, beating, blow, break, breakdown, check, collapse, conquest, count, debacle, defeasance, destruction, discomfiture, downthrow, drubbing, embarrassment, extermination, failure, fall, insuccess, killing*, lacing, licking, loss, massacre, mastery, nonsuccess, paddling, rebuff, repulse, reverse, rout, ruin, scalping, setback, shellacking, slaughter, subjugation, thrashing, trap, trashing, trimming, triumph, trouncing, vanquishment, waxing, whaling, whipping, whitewashing |
| Notes: | decimate means to kill or destroy in large numbers; defeat means to win a victory over or to beat |
| Antonyms: | conquest, success, triumph, victory, win |
| Main Entry: | difficulty |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | mental burden |
| Synonyms: | ado, aggravation, annoyance, anxiety, bafflement, bother, care, charge, complication, crisis, depression, discouragement, distress, embarrassment, emergency, exigency, frustration, grievance, hangup, harassment, imbroglio, inconvenience, irritation, jam, maze, mess, millstone, misery, oppression, perplexity, pickle, pinch, predicament, pressure, puzzle, quandary, ramification, responsibility, scrape*, setback, strain, strait, stress, strife, struggle, to-do, trouble, vicissitude, weight, worry |
| Antonyms: | calmness, contentment, peace, pleasure, satisfaction |
| Main Entry: | dilemma |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | crisis |
| Synonyms: | Catch-22, bind*, box*, corner, difficulty, double bind, embarrassment, fix, hole, hooker, impasse, jam, mess, mire, perplexity, pickle, plight, predicament, problem, puzzle, quandary, scrape, spot, strait, tight corner |
| Antonyms: | miracle, solution, wonder |
| Main Entry: | discomfort |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | irritation, pain |
| Synonyms: | ache, annoyance, discomfiture, discomposure, displeasure, disquiet, distress, embarrassment, hardship, hurt, inquietude, malaise, nuisance, soreness, trouble, uneasiness, unpleasantness, upset, vexation |
| Antonyms: | comfort, ease, easiness, pleasure, relief |