DOUBLE WHAMMY Synonyms: 32 Similar and Opposite Words

double whammy

noun

Definition of double whammy

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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of double whammy But a renter has probably absorbed years of increases, while new homebuyers face the double whammy of steep prices and high borrowing costs. — Brandy Hadley, Fortune, 31 July 2026 The common denominator is an allergy to red meat, but some people get hit with the double whammy of meat and dairy. — Andy Lewis, HollywoodReporter, 25 July 2026 Standardized options included a double whammy of increasing premiums and deductibles or other patient cost-sharing. — Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026 Peralta’s season is a double whammy. — Will Sammon, New York Times, 21 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for double whammy

Recent Examples of Synonyms for double whammy

Noun

There have been plenty of in-game rotations, promising combinations, fluidity and creativity, but without the delivery of a final hammer blow.

— Cerys Jones, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
The residents had sustained another blow when my friend, John Ahern, was a passenger on Pan Am Flight 103 that exploded on December 21, 1988 from a terrorist bomb over Lockerbie, Scotland.

— Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of blow

Noun

In moments, the towers’ dazzling height had transformed from the proud punctuation of this country’s signature skyline into a disaster-movie nightmare.

— Culture Critic, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026
The Bills finished the Toronto series with a 1-5 record, and the experiment was viewed as a disaster.

— Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of disaster

Noun

More than 1,000 people have been confirmed dead and thousands remain missing after the catastrophe, according to authorities in both countries.

— Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 6 Sep. 2026
As the story moves breathlessly through the neighborhood’s streets and interiors, Kodeih, who also edited the feature, and cinematographer Tony Kopec zero in on a jumpy, kinetic tension between looming catastrophe and potential triumph.

— Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of catastrophe

Noun

Ditka has been losing contemporaries since July of 1964, when Willie Gallimore’s Volkswagen swerved and rolled, killing Gallimore and Bo Farrington in a training camp tragedy.

— Dan Pompei, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
For other families quietly and often despairingly living with similar problems of addiction and mental illness involving their children, the tragedy is an unnerving, looming specter — a worst-case scenario made real.

— Gary Baum, HollywoodReporter, 14 Sep. 2026

Definition of tragedy

Browse Nearby Words

double whammies

double whammy

double-wide

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Style

“Double whammy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/double%20whammy. Accessed 18 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of double whammy

noun

Example Sentences

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