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| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | difficult situation |
| Synonyms: | Catch-22, asperity, bad news, bind*, circumstance, clutch, condition, corner*, crisis, deadlock, deep water, dilemma, drag*, emergency, exigency, fix*, hang-up, hardship, hole, hot water, imbroglio, impasse, jam*, juncture, large order, lot, mess*, muddle, pass, perplexity, pickle, pinch, plight, position, posture, puzzle, quagmire, quandary, rigor, rough go, scrape*, soup, spot*, state*, strait, tall order ticklish spot tight situation trouble, vicissitude |
| Antonyms: | fix, good fortune, solution |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | bind |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | predicament |
| Synonyms: | between a rock and a hard place, crunch, difficulty, dilemma, hot water, no-win situation, nuisance, pickle, predicament, quandary, sticky situation, tight situation, tight spot |
| Main Entry: | can of worms |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | complicated situation |
| Synonyms: | Gordian knot, Pandora's box, Pandora's box, complex problem, complexity, complication, difficult situation, difficulty, dog's breakfast, entanglement, hard nut to crack, headache, hornet's nest, hot water, hot water, mare's nest, mess, predicament, problem, quagmire, quandary, snafu, snake pit, snarl, trouble, troublesome problem, unpredictable situation |
| Main Entry: | case |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | circumstance, conditions |
| Synonyms: | context, contingency, crisis, dilemma, event, eventuality, fact, incident, occurrence, plight, position, predicament, problem, quandary, situation, state, status |
| Main Entry: | condition |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | circumstances |
| Synonyms: | action, ballgame, case, estate, happening, how it goes, how things are, how things stack up, lay of the land, like it is, mode, order, plight, position, posture, predicament, quality, rank, repair, reputation, riff, scene, shape, situation, size of it, sphere, spot, standing, state, state of affairs, status, status quo, trim, way things are, way things shape up, where it's at |
| Main Entry: | condition |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | illness |
| Synonyms: | affection, ailment, complaint, disease, ill, infirmity, malady, predicament, problem, syndrome, temper, weakness |
| Main Entry: | contingency |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | chance happening; possibility |
| Synonyms: | accident, break, chance, crisis, crossroads, emergency, event, eventuality, exigency, fortuity, happening, if it's cool, incident, juncture, likelihood, occasion, odds, opportunity, pass, pinch, predicament, probability, strait, turning point, uncertainty, zero hour |
| Antonyms: | certainty, definiteness, reality, surety, truth |
| 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 |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | deadlock |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | stalemate, impasse |
| Synonyms: | Catch-22, box*, cessation, checkmate, corner, dead end, dead heat, dilemma, draw, full stop, gridlock, halt, hole, pause, pickle, plight, posture, predicament, quandary, standoff, standstill, tie, wall* |
| Notes: | stalemate does not end - it is the outcome (stale in stalemate is from Anglo-Norman meaning 'be placed'); a standoff or deadlock can end |
| Antonyms: | agreement, breakthrough |
* = informal/non-formal usage
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
