quandary

plural quandaries

1. 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.

   What a difficult quandary for a bright, talented child!

   2000, Carol Ann Strip, Gretchen Hirsch, Helping Gifted Children Soar, page 208

   5 more examples

   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.

   1962 May, G. Freeman Allen, “Traffic control on the Great Northern Line”, in Modern Railways, page 343

   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.

   1962, Robert Frost, “Quandary”, in In the Clearing, New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, page 92

   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.

   1981, Robert Alter, “A Literary Approach to the Bible”, in The Art of Biblical Narrative, pages 11–12

   But we may suppose that John has set his priorities in such a way that the quandary is spurious.

   1995, Douglas N. Walton, Erik C. W. Krabbe, Commitment in Dialogue: Basic Concepts of Interpersonal Reasoning, page 54

   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?"

   2004, Jennifer Traig, Devil in the Details: Scenes from an Obsessive Girlhood, page 181

   Synonyms: perplexity, pickle, predicament, uncertainty, Catch-22, dilemma, Hobson's choice, Morton's fork

1. A locality in the Temora council area, central New South Wales, Australia.