as in halts
a point in a struggle where neither side is capable of winning or willing to give in
the jury sent a note to the judge that it was hopelessly stuck in a deadlock
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Recent Examples of deadlocks
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for reform of the Security Council's permanent members in his annual statement on the anniversary of the United Nations charter, arguing that the current establishment excludes key global voices and suffers from too many deadlocks.
—
Peter Aitken, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
Twice in recent years, the board spent months facing regular partisan deadlocks — first after Nathan Fletcher resigned in 2023 and again after Nora Vargas left office early this year.
—Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Oct. 2025
Peter Aitken, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
Twice in recent years, the board spent months facing regular partisan deadlocks — first after Nathan Fletcher resigned in 2023 and again after Nora Vargas left office early this year.
—Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deadlocks
impasses
Noun
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Similar sticking points have led to impasses in the separate negotiation processes, now requiring a third party to assist with mediation and fact-finding.—
Sierra Lopez,
Mercury News,
19 Oct. 2025
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Another reason is that these funding impasses are often covered by the media.—
W. James Antle III,
The Washington Examiner,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Deadlocks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deadlocks. Accessed 2 Nov. 2025.
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