Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

trolley problem

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.43 in modern English

Syllables: trol-ley prob-lem
IPA

23

Scrabble Score

14

Letters

3

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A type of thought experiment in ethics and psychology, involving ethical dilemmas of whether to sacrifice one person to save a larger number.

Example Sentences

"By the late ‘90s, trolley problems had fallen out of fashion. Many philosophers questioned the value of the conclusions reached by analyzing a situation so bizarre and specific."

Etymology

Coined by American philosopher Judith Thomson. The problems usually involve deciding whom to save from an approaching trolley that can be diverted but not stopped.

Inflected Forms

trolley problems (plural)

Phrases

Heinz dilemma

Frequently Paired Words

trolleyology Heinz dilemma

Questions

What does trolley problem mean?: A type of thought experiment in ethics and psychology, involving ethical dilemmas of whether to sacrifice one person to save a larger number.
Where does trolley problem come from?: Coined by American philosopher Judith Thomson. The problems usually involve deciding whom to save from an approaching trolley that can be diverted but not stopped.

How to pronounce trolley problem

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