Dilemma has been used as a general synonym for problem or predicament since the early 20th century, although some style guides insist that it must refer to a difficult choice between the two options.
what is dilemma? It is simply a problem that one has (as in ‘we are facing dilemma dealing with angry prescribers’)? Or should it be a choice between unpleasant alternatives (as in ‘we are faced with the dilemma of dealing with angry prescribers or drunken linguists’ )? Many current styles and manuals remain steadfast in the notion that a dilemma described only by the latter of the previous options.
The dilemma is not simply a problem; it means a choice between unpleasant alternatives.— The New York Times Handbook of Style and Usage2015
Despite the assurances of The New York Times Handbook of Style and UsageOur records indicate that dilemma often used in what we define as “a difficult or persistent problem.”
Birdsall has done extensive research — here’s the writer’s dilemma, to unearth so much great material you can’t bear to leave any of it on the floor of your room. cut.…— Ligaya Mishan, New York TimesOctober 9, 2020
Hovering over postponement or cancellation is a bigger dilemma facing museums: how to explain the growing need for fairness and representation on gallery walls. when the Covid crisis has shrunk budgets dramatically.—Julia Jacobs and Jason Farago, New York TimesSeptember 25, 2020
The story crystallizes a critical 21st-century dilemma. As authoritarian leaders oversee economic success, the importance of civil liberties — ensuring impunity and arbitrary harassment — can be reduced.— Jochen Bittner, New York TimesSeptember 22, 2020
Widespread use of the ‘Dilemma’
When dilemma First used in English, in the early 16th century, it is a rhetorical term, meaning “an argument that presents two or more equally persuasive alternatives against an opponent.” guard”. In the late 16th century, the word began to expand, to mean “a generally undesirable or unpleasant choice” or “a situation involving such a choice”.
A dilemma, is a form of argument or argument that can in any way convince the person in question.— Ludwig Lavater, Of ghosts and spirits walking in the night and of strange noises1572
This is a puzzling problem. Eyther does not put holiness in it and therefore does not obey the choice of order: or else put holiness in it, and therefore, according to the premise, you will certainly be condemned.— Edmund Campion, M. Champion’s big bragging and challenge1580
We started to see dilemma was used in an even broader sense, to simply mean “a matter involving a difficult choice,” in the 18th century. Evidence of this is found among the authors. Revision dilemma with positive terms, such as delighted And cute.
Mr. Walsingham was informed of my removal, and the next morning he graciously granted me a visit,—when I informed him of the previous day’s amusing dilemma, and the deliverance. of Miss Laurence, whom I introduced him to.— Ann Sheldon, Ann Sheldon’s True and Exciting Memoir1787
The great library and collection of natural wonders belong to the latter, which mainly captures his attention—giving him utility and entertainment—but at the same time makes him fall into an interesting dilemma.— Dietrich Heinrich Stoever, The Life of Sir Charles Linnæus1794
A great advantage arising from this multitude of courts is that, whose decisions are largely diametrically opposed to each other, the mind is in this way kept in the happiest dilemma, and still in that happy state of doubt…— Analectic magazine (Philadelphia, PA), July 1813
People complain about using dilemma as a synonym of problem or predicament since the 1920s. Despite this century-long stream of advice (or perhaps because of it), the deprecated meaning has been, since the second half of the 20th century, the most commonly used meaning of this word. Your use of this word in the sense problem or predicament shouldn’t be a concern.
Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn
