Select the word which means the same as the group of words given. Choice between two unsatisfactory alternatives

Correct — B. The definition carries two load-bearing parts: there are exactly two alternatives, and both of them are unsatisfactory. The right word has to encode both.

Dilemma comes from Greek di- (two) and lemma (premise). It names a choice between two courses of action, neither of them welcome — which is why the stock phrase is 'on the horns of a dilemma', one bad horn on each side.

A one-word substitute must match the whole definition, not merely its mood, so option (b) is the fit.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Problem — A problem is any difficulty that needs solving. It puts no limit on the number of options and its solution may be entirely satisfactory, so it misses both halves of the definition.
• (c)
  Confusion — Confusion is a state of mind — not knowing what is what. A dilemma is a choice you understand perfectly well and still cannot make comfortably.
• (d)
  Difficulty — Difficulty says only that something is hard. You can face a difficulty with a single path open to you, which the phrase 'between two alternatives' rules out.

One-word substitution is decided by features, not by mood. Break the definition into the things it asserts, then test each option against every one of them.

Here the definition asserts three things: a choice, exactly two alternatives, and both alternatives unwelcome.

Problem, confusion and difficulty each satisfy the general feeling of the definition and none of them satisfies the count of two. Dilemma is the only option that carries the number inside the word itself.

Key facts

• Dilemma is from Greek di- (two) plus lemma (premise), so the number two sits inside the word.
• The idiom 'on the horns of a dilemma' names the two equally unwelcome options.
• A one-word substitute must match every feature of the definition, including any number it states.

Common traps

• Choosing 'problem' because a dilemma really is a kind of problem.
• Reading only the word 'unsatisfactory' and ignoring the word 'two'.
• Treating confusion, a feeling, as equivalent to a dilemma, a structured choice.

No directly related past PYQ was found.