as in blow
informal
a situation that is bad in two different ways; a situation in which two bad conditions exist at the same time or two bad things happen one after the other
With the cold weather and the high cost of heating fuel, homeowners were hit with a double whammy this winter.
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Recent Examples of double whammy
Plan on a double whammy of inconvenient rain and much cooler temperatures.
—
Bill Kelly, CBS News, 10 Jan. 2026
Some area restaurants faced a double whammy, closing and reopening their doors in the span of months or weeks.
—Sacbee.com, 30 Dec. 2025
Parsons goes down in Packers loss Sunday was also a double whammy for Micah Parsons and the Green Bay Packers in a loss to the Denver Broncos.
—Frank Nunns O'Connell, CNN Money, 15 Dec. 2025
And that's a double whammy for someone who's poor.
—Fatma Tanis, NPR, 13 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for double whammy
Bill Kelly, CBS News, 10 Jan. 2026
Some area restaurants faced a double whammy, closing and reopening their doors in the span of months or weeks.
—Sacbee.com, 30 Dec. 2025
Parsons goes down in Packers loss Sunday was also a double whammy for Micah Parsons and the Green Bay Packers in a loss to the Denver Broncos.
—Frank Nunns O'Connell, CNN Money, 15 Dec. 2025
And that's a double whammy for someone who's poor.
—Fatma Tanis, NPR, 13 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for double whammy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for double whammy
Noun
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And the loss of Amarion Dickerson, who would’ve been a key rotation piece, ended up being a major blow for a team that was counting on everyone at the top of the rotation to deliver.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Mar. 2026
-
His win in Istanbul in 2019 represented a crushing blow to Erdogan, whose own political ascent began as the city’s mayor.—
Beril Akman,
Bloomberg,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Such lack of vision — or ample self-delusion — propelled Americans to disaster in Iraq, even with some competent advisers in the White House.—
Trudy Rubin,
Twin Cities,
6 Mar. 2026
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Leaving Polis off the guest list of a recent governors’ dinner at the White House was the latest slap in the face of many that include rescinded federal grants, a vetoed water bill, rejected disaster fund requests, and the loss of two federal agencies.—
Krista Kafer,
Denver Post,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The Asian Film Awards, an anchor event of Hong Kong’s Entertainment Expo, which usually takes place on the eve of Filmart, has canceled the main awards ceremony, citing the need to be low-key following last year’s Tai Po fire tragedy.—
Liz Shackleton,
Deadline,
11 Mar. 2026
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And when the fast-moving vehicles collide, tragedy can ensue.—
Alissa Gary,
Miami Herald,
11 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Double whammy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/double%20whammy. Accessed 13 Mar. 2026.
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