Decision vs Dilemma - What's the difference?
decision | dilemma |
A choice or judgement.
* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author=
, volume=189, issue=2, page=10, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= (uncountable) Firmness of conviction.
(chiefly combat sports) A result arrived at by the judges when there is no clear winner at the end of the contest.
(baseball) A win or a loss awarded to a pitcher.
(boxing) To defeat an opponent by a decision of the judges, rather than by a knockout
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 decision and dilemma
is that decision is decision while dilemma is dilemma (a situation with two (or more) alternatives to choose from, and where all alternatives are unsatisfactory or undesirable ).decision
English
Noun
Karen McVeigh
US rules human genes can't be patented, passage=The US supreme court has ruled unanimously that natural human genes cannot be patented, a decision that scientists and civil rights campaigners said removed a major barrier to patient care and medical innovation.}}
Usage notes
* (choice or judgment) Most often, to decide something is to make a decision; however, other possibilities exist as well. Many verbs used with destination or conclusion, such as reach, (term), and (term) can also be used with (term); these serve to emphasize that the decision is the result of deliberation. Finally, some varieties of English prefer to take a decision rather than make one. * See for uses and meaning of decision collocated with these words. * Adjectives often applied to "decision": important, difficult, big, tough, bad, informed, easy, personal, smart, poor, good, quick, major, strategic, wise, serious, hard, stupid, hasty, responsible, complex, prudent, deliberate, significant, collective, delayed, challenging, careful, foolish, small, rash, thoughtful, slow, clever, forced, uninformed.Derived terms
* decisioning * decision making * decision tree * decision problem * decision procedure * decision theory * indecisionVerb
(en verb)External links
* (wikipedia) ----dilemma
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
