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Flounder vs Dilemma - What's the difference?

flounder | dilemma |

As nouns the difference between flounder and dilemma

is that flounder is a european species of flatfish having dull brown colouring with reddish-brown blotches; fluke, european flounder, while dilemma is dilemma (a situation with two (or more) alternatives to choose from, and where all alternatives are unsatisfactory or undesirable ).

As a verb flounder

is to flop around as a fish out of water.

flounder

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) floundre, from . Cognate with Danish flynder, German Flunder, Swedish flundra.

Noun

(en-noun)
  • A European species of flatfish having dull brown colouring with reddish-brown blotches; fluke, European flounder, .
  • (North America) Any of various flatfish of the family Pleuronectidae or Bothidae.
  • A bootmaker's tool for crimping boot fronts.
  • (rfi, the bootmaker's tool)

    Etymology 2

    Possibly from the noun. Possibly from (founder) or from (etyl) . See other terms beginning with fl , such as (flutter), (flitter), (float), (flap), (flub), (flip)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To flop around as a fish out of water.
  • To make clumsy attempts to move or regain one's balance.
  • Robert yanked Connie's leg vigorously, causing her to flounder and eventually fall.
  • To act clumsily or confused; to struggle or be flustered.
  • * Sir W. Hamilton
  • They have floundered on from blunder to blunder.
    He gave a good speech, but floundered when audience members asked questions he could not answer well.
  • * 1996 , , Virago Press, paperback edition, page 136
  • He is assessing directions, but he is not lost, not floundering .
    Usage notes
    Frequently confused with the verb founder. The difference is one of severity; floundering'' (struggling to maintain a position) comes before ''foundering (losing it completely by falling, sinking or failing).

    dilemma

    English

    Noun

    (en-noun)
  • A circumstance in which a choice must be made between two or more alternatives that seem equally undesirable.
  • * Jonathan Swift
  • A strong dilemma in a desperate case! / To act with infamy, or quit the place.
  • 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.
  • 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

    Synonyms

    * (circumstance in which a choice must be made between two alternatives) * (any difficult circumstance) bind, fix, pickle, problem, quandary * (logic) * (rhetoric) * See also

    Derived terms

    * on the horns of a dilemma

    See also

    * * between a rock and a hard place * between the devil and the deep blue sea * between Scylla and Charybdis * Buridan's ass

    References

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    Anagrams

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