DOUBLE BIND Synonyms: 24 Similar and Opposite Words

double bind

noun

as in dilemma

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

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Recent Examples of double bind And when that pressure collided with the 43-day shutdown—which paused SNAP for millions before benefits were restored—some households faced a double bind: food money late, car payment due. —

Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Nov. 2025 This double bind can be traumatic. —

Hind Haddad, The Conversation, 30 Sep. 2025 During the Biden Presidency, the government faced a double bind with Venezuelans: Their country, run by a vicious dictator and beset by a humanitarian crisis, had for years refused to accept deportations from the U.S. —

Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025 That leaves the consumer in a double bind: still resilient, but increasingly forced to be discerning, particularly in a world where prices perniciously creep up. —

Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 29 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for double bind

Recent Examples of Synonyms for double bind

Noun

As insecurity intensifies, Mali’s junta faces a strategic dilemma.

— Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 10 May 2026
Still, even after the election, Magyar has remained relentlessly on message—which is to say, vague and tight-lipped, leaving several inconvenient dilemmas unaddressed.

— Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 9 May 2026