predicament

Etymology

From Middle English predicament, from Old French predicament and Medieval Latin prēdicāmentum, from Late Latin praedicāmentum (“that which is predicated, a predicament, category”).

noun

1. A definite class, state or condition.
2. An unfortunate or trying position or condition.
   Culture, for me, is the effort to provide a coherent set of answers to the existential predicaments that confront all human beings in the passage of their life. 1978, Daniel Bell, The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism, page xv (20th edition)
   The Midlanders will hope the victory will kickstart a campaign that looked to have hit the buffers, but the sense of trepidation enveloping the Reebok Stadium heading into the new year underlines the seriousness of the predicament facing Owen Coyle's men. December 10, 2011, Marc Higginson, “Bolton 1 - 2 Aston Villa”, in BBC Sport
3. (logic) That which is predicated; a category.