quandary
/ˈkwɑn.də.ɹi/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.60 in modern English
21
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A state of not knowing what to decide; a state of difficulty or perplexity; a state of uncertainty, hesitation or puzzlement; a dilemma, a difficult decision or choice.
name
A locality in the Temora council area, central New South Wales, Australia.
Example Sentences
- "As a Hitchin signalman once pointed out to me, when a regulating quandary arises concerning a fast-moving Class A train there is no time to consult Control and get their answer before the express is on one's doorstep."
- "To quote the oracle of Delphi, / Love thou thy neighbor as thyself, aye, / And hate him as thyself thou hatest. / There quandary is at its greatest."
- "The preservation of Judah's ignorance here is important, for the final turn of his painful moral education must be withheld for the quandary in which he will find himself later when he encounters Joseph as viceroy of Egypt without realizing his brother's identity."
- "But we may suppose that John has set his priorities in such a way that the quandary is spurious."
- "What a difficult quandary for a bright, talented child!"
- "Then I would begin contemplating the next quandary: "Does the Torah say it's okay to portray a hooker, and is a heart of gold a mitigating factor?""
Etymology
16th century. Origin unknown; perhaps a dialectal corruption (simulating a word of Latin origin with suffix -ary) of wandreth (“evil, plight, peril, adversity, difficulty”), from Middle English wandreth, from Old Norse vandræði (“difficulty, trouble”), from vándr (“difficult, requiring pains and care”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkwɑn.də.ɹi/
- British English: /ˈkwɒn.də.ɹi/