predicament

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.”

   “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.”

3. That which is predicated; a category.