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View synonyms for

plight

1

[ plahyt ]

noun

  1. a condition, state, or situation, especially an unfavorable or unfortunate one:

    to find oneself in a sorry plight.



plight

2

[ plahyt ]

verb (used with object)

  1. to pledge (one's troth) in engagement to marry.
  2. to bind (someone) by a pledge, especially of marriage.
  3. to give in pledge, as one's word, or to pledge, as one's honor.

noun

  1. Archaic. pledge.

plight

1

/ ɪ /

noun

  1. a condition of extreme hardship, danger, etc
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

plight

2

/ ɪ /

verb

  1. to give or pledge (one's word)

    he plighted his word to attempt it

  2. to promise formally or pledge (allegiance, support, etc)

    to plight aid

  3. plight one's troth
    1. to make a promise of marriage
    2. to give one's solemn promise
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. archaic.
    a solemn promise, esp of engagement; pledge
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Derived Forms

  • ˈٱ, noun
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Other Word Forms

  • İ noun
  • ܲ·Ļ adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of plight1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English plit “fold, condition, bad condition,” from Anglo-French (cognate with Middle French pleit plait ) “fold, manner of folding, condition”; spelling apparently influenced by plight 2 in obsolete sense “danger”

Origin of plight2

First recorded before 1000; (noun) Middle English; Old English pliht “danger, risk”; cognate with Dutch plicht, German Pflicht “duty, obligation”; (verb) Middle English plighten, Old English plihtan (derivative of the noun) “to endanger, risk, pledge”; cognate with Old High German phlichten “to engage oneself,” Middle Dutch plihten “to guarantee”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of plight1

C14 plit, from Old French pleit fold, plait ; probably influenced by Old English pliht peril, plight ²

Origin of plight2

Old English pliht peril; related to Old High German, German Pflicht duty
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Synonym Study

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

He attributed the vacillating accounts to Phillip’s plight as a witness who “saw his mother murdered before his very eyes” but still loved the killer.

From

Boeing’s plight is just one aspect of a White House tariff policy that increasingly resembles, as Shakespeare might have put it, “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

From

She documents trees moving in South America to find survivable habitats, the plight of the critically endangered Sumatran rhino and a small experimental effort to save the dying Great Barrier Reef.

From

He used his name, contacts and the ability to speak fluent English to raise the awareness of the plight of Karabakh Armenians.

From

He handcuffed himself to a federal building to bring attention to the plight of immigrants in detention, the first of about a dozen times he would be arrested for civil disobedience, Jimenez said.

From

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