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catch-22

noun

Synonyms and Antonyms of catch-22

1 a danger or difficulty that is hidden or not easily recognized

  • the drug lowers cholesterol, but the catch-22 is that it mainly lowers good cholesterol
Synonyms of catch-22

booby trap, catch, gimmick, gotcha, hitch, joker, land mine, pitfall, snag
Words Related to catch-22

snare, trap, trip wire, web

hazard, peril, risk

bomb, bombshell, kicker, surprise (also surprize)

bait, decoy, lure

2 a difficult, puzzling, or embarrassing situation from which there is no easy escape

  • the catch-22 faced by every first-time loan applicant: how to get a loan without a credit history
Synonyms of catch-22

bind, box, corner, dilemma, fix, hole, impasse, jackpot [chiefly West], jam, mire, pickle, predicament, quagmire, rabbit hole, rattrap, spot, sticky wicket, swamp
Words Related to catch-22

difficulty, node

hot water, soup

pinch, plight, quandary, scrape, trouble

deadlock, halt, logjam, stalemate, standstill

clutch, crisis, crossroad, emergency, exigency, juncture, strait
Phrases Synonymous with catch-22

kettle of fish

3 a situation in which one has to choose between two or more equally unsatisfactory choices

  • an environmental catch-22: building wind farms results in scenic eyesores; not building wind farms results in greater pollution from fossil fuels
Synonyms of catch-22

dilemma, double bind, quandary
Words Related to catch-22

deadlock, impasse, quagmire, stalemate, standoff

knot, problem

bind, difficulty, fix, hole, jam, pickle, pinch, plight, predicament, spot
Near Antonyms of catch-22

breeze, cinch, duck soup, snap

Learn More about catch-22

  1. Dictionary: Definition of catch-22 Nglish: Translation of catch-22 for Spanish speakers

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