trilemma
tri·lem·ma/tɹaɪˈlɛmə/noun
trilemma is spelled T-R-I-L-E-M-M-A: 8 letters and 3 syllables (tri·lem·ma). It appears about once in every 28 million words in written English, the 159,707th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, trilemma means “A circumstance in which a choice must be made between three options that seem equally undesirable” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of trilemma is trilemmas or trilemmata.
How many letters and syllables are in trilemma?
| Letters | 8: T-R-I-L-E-M-M-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: tri·lem·ma |
| In writing | about once in every 28 million words; the 159,707th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is trilemma?
Trilemma appears about once in every 28 million words in written English, the 159,707th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce trilemma?
- US /tɹaɪˈlɛmə/
Trilemma has 3 syllables, split tri·lem·ma in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-trilemma.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with trilemma?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as trilemma from its last stressed vowel (/ɛmə/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of trilemma
- trilemmas plural
- trilemmata plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does trilemma mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A circumstance in which a choice must be made between three options that seem equally undesirable.
- 2
A situation in which a choice must be made among three desirable options, only two of which are possible at the same time.
- 3
An argument containing three alternatives, jointly exhaustive either under any condition(s) or under all condition(s) consistent with the universe of discourse of that argument, that each imply the same conclusion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Trilemma in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense circumstance in which a choice must be made between three options:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does trilemma come from?
The word is modelled on dilemma, with di- (“two, twice, double”) replaced by tri- (“three”), equivalent to tri- + lemma.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).