no-win

adjective

Definition of no-winnext
as in impossible

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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 no-win Or has that become a no-win move? — Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 31 Jan. 2026 This is a no-win situation because one of us will end up unhappy. — Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2026 This type of agreement is not unheard of, according to Billboard, mirroring the no-win-no-fee model employed by some legal firms. — Jazz Monroe, Pitchfork, 16 Dec. 2025 The reality is that caregiving will frequently put you in no-win situations where no easy answer exists. — Kat McGowan, NPR, 18 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for no-win
Recent Examples of Synonyms for no-win
  1. impossible
  2. hopeless
  3. pointless
  4. lost
  5. unattainable
  6. worthless
Adjective
  • Riccardo Fabiani, Project Director for North Africa for the International Crisis Group, says the mass crossing seen in Ceuta on July 30 is by nature impossible to blame on a single actor or state.
    — Miguel Macias, NPR, 16 Aug. 2026
  • In the film, an impossible snowfall in a Ugandan village becomes a political allegory, echoing colonial intrusion.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of impossible
Adjective
  • The hopeless romantic in me was shoved out of the way by the football fan.
    — Sean Joseph OutKick, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The wartime mood among European and American intellectuals was hopeless, or, rather, in her estimation, helpless.
    — David Denby, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of hopeless
Adjective
  • In this sort of time regime, pointless, aimless time becomes a rarity, even a luxury—and an object of nostalgia.
    — Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 14 Aug. 2026
  • For young people watching this happen, studying can begin to feel pointless.
    — Fatima Faizi, NPR, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of pointless
Adjective
  • Meanwhile, the fallen Jedi Baylan Skoll (Rory McCann) wants to uncover a lost power that could change everything.
    — Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • The reason for addressing the Giants after another loss in a lost season was obvious to the manager.
    — Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of lost
Adjective
  • Outsourcing questions about improving one’s appearance to software that was built to optimize someone’s looks based on existing patterns creates an endless spiral in which increasingly unattainable results are reinforced and standardized.
    — Jaimie Potters, InStyle, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Decades later, fulfilling the typical American Dream of a home with white picket fence dotting the front lawn has become all but unattainable, as home prices have soared 235% since January 2000.
    — Mia Osmonbekov, Fortune, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of unattainable
Adjective
  • In League Two, tweaks to SCMP were largely thrown out because they were seen as worthless.
    — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • And since Jace’s death, she’s treated Baela as nothing more than a defective surveillance drone — a worthless piece of tech that never spots Vhagar.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of worthless

Browse Nearby Words

nowheresville
no-win
nowise
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Cite this Entry

“No-win.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/no-win. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

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