Zugzwang is a situation in board games where you must make a move, and any move you can make will worsen your position. For example, in checkers, you must capture the opponent's piece when you have an opportunity to do so, and a clever opponent can thus lay a trap that you must fall into.
Situations in real life (outside of board games) resemble a zugzwang when anything you do will make the situation worse, and you don't have a choice not to make a choice.
For example, consider you've lied to your employer that you know Excel, to get the job. Now they want you to complete a long Excel task within the week. Either you need to tell them you've lied all along or you need to learn Excel and work day-and-night to complete the task on time - probably still producing sub-standard work; you're in a zugzwang.
A more philosophical example: imagine you hate capitalism. You can either live contrary to your values or take a great personal cost by trying to exit the system, though you can never completely. Any move you make isn’t ideal, and you can’t not play.
There are many more concepts in my "Mind Expander" tool (it's free)