dilemma
noun /dɪˈlemə/, /daɪˈlemə/
/dɪˈlemə/, /daɪˈlemə/
Idioms - a situation that makes problems, often one in which you have to make a very difficult choice between things of equal importance
（进退两难的）窘境，困境 - I could see no way of resolving this moral dilemma.
我想不出解决这一道德困境的办法。 - The digital era brings new ethical dilemmas for journalists.
数字时代给记者带来了新的道德困境。 - in a dilemma They were caught in a real dilemma.
他们陷入了进退两难的境地。 - dilemma about/over something She faced a dilemma about whether to accept the offer or not.
她左右为难，不知道是否该接受提议。 - dilemma between A and B the perennial dilemma between work and family commitments
事业成功与履行家庭义务之间长期存在的矛盾
Topics Preferences and decisionsc1- I couldn't see any way out of the dilemma.
我看不到有任何摆脱这个两难局面的办法。 - The dilemma facing the country's allies was even more serious.
这个国家的盟国面临的两难困境更加严峻。 - The dilemma over human cloning lies at the heart of the ethical choices facing society.
人类克隆的两难处境本质上是社会面临的伦理选择问题。 - The fundamental dilemma remains: in a tolerant society, should we tolerate intolerance?
基本的矛盾仍未消除：在宽容的社会里，我们应不应该容忍狭隘 ? - The minister is now in an impossible dilemma.
部长现在陷入无法摆脱的两难境地。 - This poses a difficult dilemma for teachers.
这给教师造成了进退两难的困境。 - the dilemma that arises when a doctor has to decide whether or not to prescribe an expensive treatment
医生必须决定是否开昂贵处方的两难处境
Collocations Dictionaryadjective- acute
- appalling
- big
- …
- create
- pose
- present somebody with
- …
- arise
- occur
- lie
- …
- in a/the dilemma
- dilemma about
- dilemma over
- …
- a solution to a dilemma
- a way out of a dilemma
词源early 16th cent. (denoting a form of argument involving a choice between equally unfavourable alternatives): via Latin from Greek dilēmma, from di- ‘twice’ + lēmma ‘premise’. - I could see no way of resolving this moral dilemma.
Idioms
on the horns of a dilemma
- in a situation in which you have to make a choice between things that are equally unpleasant
进退两难；左右为难 - The medical profession’s eagerness for scientific advance had impaled it on the horns of a dilemma, forcing an unnatural choice between science and morality.
医学界对科学进步的渴望使其陷入两难境地，迫使其在科学和道德之间做出不自然的选择。 - The dire economic situation had placed the prime minister on the horns of a dilemma.
严峻的经济形势使首相进退两难。
- The medical profession’s eagerness for scientific advance had impaled it on the horns of a dilemma, forcing an unnatural choice between science and morality.