Definitions

1. noun

A situation involving three difficulties or alternatives, each of which is unpleasant or undesirable, and from which it is hard to choose.

“The politician faced a trilemma: raise taxes, cut essential services, or risk defaulting on government debt.”

2. noun

A proposition or statement that involves three conditions or alternatives, as in a philosophical or mathematical context.

“The mathematician proposed a trilemma to prove the existence of prime numbers.”