Adjacent Words

Quandary definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

QUAN'DARY, n. Doubt; uncertainty; a state of difficulty or perplexity.
QUAN'DARY, v.t. To bring into a state of uncertainty or difficulty. [Not used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one; "finds himself in a most awkward predicament"; "the woeful plight of homeless people" [syn: predicament, quandary, plight]
2: state of uncertainty or perplexity especially as requiring a choice between equally unfavorable options [syn: dilemma, quandary]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -ries) Etymology: origin unknown Date: 1579 a state of perplexity or doubt

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. (pl. -ies) 1 a state of perplexity. 2 a difficult situation; a practical dilemma. Etymology: 16th c.: orig. uncert.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Quandary Quan"da*ry, n.; pl. Quandaries. [Prob. fr. OE. wandreth adversity, perplexity, Icel. wandr[ae][eth]i difficulty, trouble, fr. vandr difficult.] A state of difficulty or perplexity; doubt; uncertainty.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Quandary Quan"da*ry, v. t. To bring into a state of uncertainty, perplexity, or difficulty. [Obs.] --Otway.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(quandaries) If you are in a quandary, you have to make a decision but cannot decide what to do. The government appears to be in a quandary about what to do with so many people. N-COUNT: usu sing

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Difficulty, perplexity, doubt, puzzle, uncertainty, embarrassment, bewilderment, nonplus, strait, dilemma, pickle, predicament.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

To be in a quandary: to be puzzled. Also one so over-gorged, as to be doubtful which he should do first, sh--e or spew. Some derive the term quandary from the French phrase qu'en dirai je? what shall I say of it? others from an Italian word signifying a conjuror's circle.

Moby Thesaurus

Gordian knot, baffle, bafflement, bewilderment, bother, confoundment, confusion, crux, difficulty, dilemma, discomposure, disconcert, disconcertedness, disconcertion, disconcertment, disturbance, embarrassment, enigma, fix, jam, knot, knotty point, mystery, node, nodus, nonplus, oxymoron, paradox, perplexity, perturbation, pickle, plight, pons asinorum, poser, pother, predicament, problem, puzzle, puzzlement, riddle, scrape, stew, teaser, unassuredness, uncertainty, upset, vexed question