Contradiction vs Dilemma - What's the difference?
contradiction | dilemma |
(uncountable) The act of contradicting.
(countable) A statement that contradicts itself.
(countable) a logical incompatibility among two or more elements or propositions
(logic, countable) A proposition that is false for all values of its variables.
A circumstance in which a choice must be made between two or more alternatives that seem equally undesirable.
* Jonathan Swift
A difficult circumstance or problem.
(logic) A type of syllogism of the form "if A is true then B is true; if C is true then D is true; either A or C is true; therefore either B or D is true".
(rhetoric) Offering to an opponent a choice between two (equally unfavorable) alternatives.
*
As nouns the difference between contradiction and dilemma
is that contradiction is the act of contradicting while dilemma is a circumstance in which a choice must be made between two or more alternatives that seem equally undesirable.contradiction
English
(wikipedia contradiction)Noun
- His contradiction of the proposal was very interesting.
- There is a contradiction in what you say - she can't be both married and single.
- Marx believed that the contradictions of capitalism would lead to socialism.
Synonyms
* (proposition that is false for all values of its variables)Antonyms
* (proposition that is false for all values of its variables) tautologyCoordinate terms
* (proposition that is false for all values of its variables) contingency, tautologydilemma
English
Noun
(en-noun)- A strong dilemma in a desperate case! / To act with infamy, or quit the place.
Usage notes
* The sense of a difficult circumstance or problem is considered non-standard[by whom?]. * Occasionally spelled/misspelled as dilemna'', perhaps originally via false analogy with words such as ''condemn'', ''solemn'', and ''hymn . This spelling has been reportedly taught in many regions of Great Britain and the United States as well as around the world; and can be found in the works of many well-known authors (e.g. Watts, Defroe & Goldsmith).World Wide Words: Dilemma
