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# The Good Oil Word of the Day
- URL: https://goodoil.news/the-good-oil-word-of-the-day-531/
- Published: 2026-01-24T17:15:22.000Z
- Updated: 2026-01-24T17:15:21.000Z
- Author: David Theobald
- Tags: General, Word of the Day

The word for today is…

dilemma (noun) -

1a: a usually undesirable or unpleasant choice  
b: a situation involving such a choice, broadly : predicament  
2a: a problem involving a difficult choice  
b: a difficult or persistent problem  
3: an argument presenting two or more equally conclusive alternatives against an opponent

Source : [Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dilemma?ref=goodoil.news)

Etymology : Although some insist that dilemma be restricted to instances in which the alternatives to be chosen are equally unsatisfactory, their concern is misplaced; the unsatisfactoriness of the options is usually a matter of how the author presents them. What is distressing or painful about a dilemma is having to make a choice one does not want to make. The use of such adjectives as terrible, painful, and irreconcilable suggests that dilemma is losing some of its unpleasant force. Origins from Late Latin, from Late Greek dilēmmat-, dilēmma, probably back-formation from Greek dilēmmatos involving two assumptions. First known use was in 1523.

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