How to Use catch-22 in a Sentence

catch-22

noun
  • For tourists obsessed with beating the crowds, Covid-19 is a catch-22.
    Laura Mallonee, Wired, 12 Apr. 2020
  • Makowski said that victims will be caught in a catch-22.
    Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 3 Dec. 2019
  • Nichols, the mother of four, described a catch-22 faced by low-income workers in the area.
    Jonnelle Marte, Washington Post, 13 Aug. 2019
  • The catch-22: Nobody wants to deal with the filth and crime, yet nobody with a heart wants others to suffer due to the high cost of housing.
    Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 2 Oct. 2024
  • With new freedoms came, of course, new rules and regulations — and a sort of catch-22 for High Times.
    Avi Selk, Washington Post, 19 Apr. 2018
  • Really, this is the catch-22 at the heart of the modern celebrity CEO and social media.
    Callum Booth, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
  • At its inception, though, production of NIO’s first car faces a bit of a catch-22.
    Sean O'Kane, The Verge, 19 Aug. 2018
  • The unrelenting catch-22 of Moren’s job is that a program never stands still.
    Zach Osterman, Indianapolis Star, 5 Mar. 2020
  • While new sunscreen formulas have been available for over a decade in other countries, Andrews says that the FDA has left the public with a catch-22.
    Rachel Nussbaum, Glamour, 15 May 2018
  • Xi’s growing alignment with Moscow presents something of a catch-22 for China.
    Jude Blanchette, Foreign Affairs, 21 Feb. 2022
  • Naming your daughter after a city, state, country or natural landscape is a bit of a catch-22.
    Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Jan. 2025
  • The Catch-22 is that the guarantees gave drillers the security to boost output, undercutting the rally.
    Alex Nussbaum, Bloomberg.com, 12 May 2017
  • Thus, Brussels faces a catch-22: Without coronabonds, populism may overwhelm the south; with coronabonds, populism may rise in the north.
    Peter Rough, National Review, 22 Apr. 2020
  • Focusing on fireworks can sometimes present a catch-22.
    AL.com, 3 July 2017
  • For decades, franchise employees who wished to bargain collectively were caught in a catch-22.
    Mark Joseph Stern, Slate Magazine, 19 Dec. 2017
  • Interventions that target trust could therefore be part of a solution to the catch-22 of loneliness.
    Marta Zaraska, Quanta Magazine, 28 Feb. 2023
  • If anything, Kennedy gave voice to the punishing catch-22 that has kept women from the helm of Hollywood's largest, most lucrative properties for, well, the entire history of the art form.
    Adam B. Vary, chicagotribune.com, 10 Dec. 2019
  • This proves to be something of a catch-22 when Ned brings his childhood crush Chuck (Anna Friel) back to life, only to realize that a physical relationship with her is now out of the question.
    EW.com, 9 Nov. 2023
  • In the debut episode of goop's new podcast, The Beauty Closet, Paltrow spoke openly about how being celebrated for her appearance has been something of a catch-22.
    Lauren Valenti, Vogue, 26 July 2019
  • In the meantime, North American paleontologists have been caught in a catch-22.
    Michael Greshko, National Geographic, 10 Sep. 2019
  • Traveling the distance necessary to reach one often requires a car—a catch-22 for those without licenses.
    Andrew Cockburn, Harper's magazine, 6 Jan. 2020
  • The catch-22 is that Gordon arguably shouldn’t be doubling up on roles too much this early in the season — especially in the immediate aftermath of his own injury.
    Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 7 Dec. 2024
  • The catch-22 is that Gordon arguably shouldn’t be doubling up on roles too much this early in the season — especially in the immediate aftermath of his own injury.
    Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 7 Dec. 2024
  • Every legacy automaker is facing this catch-22 right now.
    IEEE Spectrum, 24 Nov. 2020
  • Select the right seat People who deal with migraines tend to be ultra-sensitive to motion sickness, which is a catch-22 because motion sickness can trigger an attack.
    Cheyenne Buckingham, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Nov. 2024
  • Select the right seat People who deal with migraines tend to be ultra-sensitive to motion sickness, which is a catch-22 because motion sickness can trigger an attack.
    Cheyenne Buckingham, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Nov. 2024
  • California is also in danger of creating an energy catch-22 whereby the push to go green could hobble the state’s clean power efforts.
    George Avalos, The Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2025
  • California is also in danger of creating an energy catch-22 whereby the push to go green could hobble the state’s clean power efforts.
    George Avalos, The Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2025
  • Consumers will face a catch-22: Click and risk a virus or a scam, or don’t click and miss potentially legitimate information about why a debt collector is going after you and how to dispute the debt.
    David Vladeck, WIRED, 23 Aug. 2019
  • In retrospect, an exposition-heavy and tonally iffy first season is a bit of a catch-22 for a show like Buffy; its brilliance really did require a depth that could only be created over time.
    Devon Maloney, VanityFair.com, 10 Mar. 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'catch-22.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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