hollow victories
Wins that sting
A hollow victory is a win that feels empty or unsatisfying despite technical success.
The triumph may come at too great a cost, arrive too late to matter, or prove meaningless in the larger scheme of things.
We got the contract, but losing three key employees in the process made it feel like a hollow victory.
The phrase often describes situations where someone gets what they wanted only to find it wasn't worth having.
- meaninglessLacking significance or purpose
- unfulfillingLacking emotional reward
- insubstantialLacking physical or material substance
- pyrrhicWon at excessive cost
- emptyHolding nothing inside
Faustian bargain · unsatisfying · scorched earth · disillusionment · regret · tragic hero · pointless · unintended consequences · bitter pill · bitterness · facade · hubris · collateral damage · overextension · vanity · frustration · existential angst · irony