plight
A dire or unfortunate situationA dire or unfortunate situation.
» He was not sympathetic to my plight.
Meaning
9 sensesA dire or unfortunate situation.
Misere, Notlage, Bedrängnis
(dialectal)Responsibility for ensuing consequences; risk; danger; peril.
(dialectal)An instance of danger or peril; a dangerous moment or situation.
(dialectal)Blame; culpability; fault; wrong-doing; sin; crime.
(dialectal)One's office; duty; charge.
(archaic)A (neutral) condition or state.
Zustand
положе́ниеpoložénije, состоя́ниеsostojánije
(obsolete)Good health.
(archaic)That which is exposed to risk; that which is plighted or pledged; security; a gage; a pledge.
(obsolete)A network; a plait; a fold; rarely a garment.
- a solemn pledge of fidelity
- a situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one
Examples
6 sentencesHe was not sympathetic to my plight.
She was not sympathetic to my plight.
The documentary is meant to raise consciousness about the plight of the poor.
ruЭтот документальный фильм призван поднять тему тяжёлого положения бедных.
deDie Dokumentation ist dazu gedacht, die Notlage der Armen stärker ins Bewusstsein zu rücken.
The king was unsympathetic to the plight of the peasants, so he was unpopular.
They understood my plight.
deSie verstanden meine Not.
Translations
7 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 2
Origin
From Middle English plit (“fold, wrinkle, bad situation”), conflation of Middle English plFrom Middle English plit (“fold, wrinkle, bad situation”), conflation of Middle English pliht, plight (“risky promise, peril”) (from Old English pliht "danger, risk"; see Etymology 2) and Anglo-Norman plit, plyte (“fold, condition”), from Old French pleit (“condition, manner of folding”) (from Vulgar Latin *plictum, from Latin plicitum (“fold”)).
From Middle English plight (“risk, danger”), from Old English pliht (“peril, risk, danger, damage, plight”), from Proto-West Germanic *plihti (“care, responsibility, duty”). A suffixed form of the root represented by Old English pleoh (“risk, danger, hurt, peril"; also "responsibility”) and plēon (“to endanger, risk”). Akin to Old English plihtan (“to endanger, compromise”). Cognate with Scots plicht (“responsibility, plight”), Dutch plicht, Low German Plicht (“duty”), German Pflicht (“duty”), Danish pligt (“duty”), Yiddish פֿליכט (flikht). More at pledge.
From Middle English pliȝt, plight, plyt, pleit, from Anglo-Norman pleit (“pleat, fold”). More at plait.
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Forms
plural: plightsSynonyms
3 synonyms- a solemn pledge of fidelity:troth
- a situation from which extrication is difficult especially an unpleasant or trying one:predicamentquandary