- dilemma
- nounADJECTIVE▪ acute (esp. BrE), appalling (esp. BrE), big, difficult, genuine (esp. BrE), great, impossible (esp. BrE), real, serious, terrible, thorny (esp. AmE)▪ central, essential, fundamental▪
The fundamental dilemma remains: in a tolerant society, should we tolerate intolerance?
▪ common, familiar▪ interesting▪ human▪ personal▪ ethical, moral▪ social▪ policy, politicalVERB + DILEMMA▪ create, pose, present sb with▪This poses a difficult dilemma for teachers.
▪ be caught in, be faced with, confront, face, find yourself in, have▪They were caught in a real dilemma.
▪ resolve, solve▪I could see no way of resolving this moral dilemma.
DILEMMA + VERB▪ arise, occur▪the dilemma that arises when a doctor has to decide whether or not to prescribe an expensive treatment
▪ lie▪The dilemma over human cloning lies at the heart of the ethical choices facing society.
▪ confront sb, face sb▪The dilemma facing the country's allies was even more serious.
PREPOSITION▪ in a/the dilemma▪The president is now in a dilemma.
▪ dilemma about, dilemma over▪She faced a dilemma about whether to accept the offer or not.
▪ dilemma between▪the perennial dilemma between work and family commitments
PHRASES▪ a solution to a dilemma, a way out of a dilemma▪I couldn't see any way out of the dilemma.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
