double bind

double bind

noun

Definition of DOUBLE BIND

: a psychological predicament in which a person receives from a single source conflicting messages that allow no appropriate response to be made; broadly : dilemma 2

Examples of DOUBLE BIND

1. <the double bind faced by every politician: responding to scurrilous charges only gives them unwarranted publicity; not responding to such charges is often interpreted as an admission of guilt>

First Known Use of DOUBLE BIND

1956

Related to DOUBLE BIND

Synonyms: catch-22, dilemma, quandary

Related Words: deadlock, impasse, quagmire, stalemate, standoff; knot, problem; bind, difficulty, fix, hole, jam, pickle, pinch, plight, predicament, spot

Near Antonyms: breeze, cinch, duck soup, snap

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Rhymes with DOUBLE BIND

ax to grind, bear in mind, blow one's mind, bring to mind, color-blind, double-blind, drop behind, fall behind, gavelkind, gravel-blind, hoodman-blind, humankind, in a bind, mastermind, mortal mind, never mind, nonaligned, put in mind, single-blind, unaligned, undersigned, well-defined, womankind