vicious circles

noun

variants also vicious cycles
plural of vicious circle
as in cycles
a repeating situation or condition in which one problem causes another problem that makes the first problem worse We're trapped in a vicious circle of needing to borrow money in order to pay debts.

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for vicious circles
  1. cycles
  2. chains
  3. circles
Noun
  • With Apple’s new approach to hardware release cycles and consumer expectations, the Neo will address that by setting an annual launch date of late March.
    — Ewan Spence, Forbes.com, 16 Aug. 2026
  • The total egg-freezing costs for a 38-year-old woman in New York City who needs three cycles can reach $47,000, according to a FertilityIQ analysis.
    — Annie Nova, CNBC, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of cycles
Noun
  • Next came an exhibition around a creepy Howdy Doody-ish figure that met countless violent fates while being cast about mechanistically on chains in 2016.
    — Andy Battaglia, ARTnews.com, 20 Aug. 2026
  • By the end of the 1920s, major theater chains were dispensing with the organists and pit orchestras that had accompanied silent films.
    — David Woodard, Chicago Tribune, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of chains
Noun
  • How to choose a concealer for dark circles The heavy-duty concealer that covers your angriest breakouts might not be the best choice for the delicate skin under your eyes.
    — Alanna Martine Kilkeary, Glamour, 15 Aug. 2026
  • As her work developed in the ’70s and ’80s, Heilmann began transforming personal references like music, waves, California highways, and other symbols into more simple visual forms like circles, squares, and stripes.
    — Harrison Jacobs, ARTnews.com, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of circles
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.

Browse Nearby Words

vicious circle
vicious circles
viciously
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Cite this Entry

“Vicious circles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vicious%20circles. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

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