lose-lose
Nobody benefits here
A lose-lose situation is one where all parties end up worse off regardless of the outcome—the opposite of win-win.
No matter which choice is made or how events unfold, everyone involved suffers some disadvantage: It's lose-lose: if we stay, we lose money; if we leave, we lose credibility.
Sometimes shortened to simply lose-lose as an adjective: a lose-lose proposition.
Agreement through mutual sacrifice
- concessionYielding a point
- stalemateMutual obstruction preventing progress
- deadlockMutual blocking, no progress
- impasseSituation without resolution
settlement · bargaining · tradeoff · standoff · no-win · both sides · agreement · mediation
Study of strategic interaction
- decisionSettled course of action
- choiceAct of selecting
- optionAvailable course of action
- alternativeAnother available choice
approach · tactic · move · mistake · blunder · miscalculation · shortsighted · foolish
State of affairs
- scenarioPostulated event sequence
- dilemmaForced choice between undesirables
- predicamentDifficult, unpleasant situation
- quandaryState of perplexity
result · consequence · downside · negative · detrimental · harmful · costly · failure
compromise
Agreement through mutual sacrifice
- concessionYielding a point
- stalemateMutual obstruction preventing progress
- deadlockMutual blocking, no progress
impasse · settlement · bargaining · tradeoff · standoff · no-win · both sides · agreement · mediation · arbitration
game theory
Study of strategic interaction
alternative · approach · tactic · move · mistake · blunder · miscalculation · shortsighted · foolish · unwise
situation
State of affairs
- scenarioPostulated event sequence
- dilemmaForced choice between undesirables
- predicamentDifficult, unpleasant situation
quandary · result · consequence · downside · negative · detrimental · harmful · costly · failure · setback
- conflict responsesavoidance, confrontation, compromise, accommodation, aggression
- paradoxescatch-22, Zeno's paradox, Zeno's paradoxes, causal loop, bootstrap paradox
- agreementshandshake, contract, nod, accords, verbal consent
- consequencesconsequence, consequences, result, results, effect
- predicamentspredicament, dilemma, bind, pickle, pinch
- strategic choicesprisoners dilemma, chicken game, zero-sum game, tradeoff, gambit
lose-losewin-win
Advantageous to both sides
mutually beneficial · positive-sum · win-win situation · best-case scenario · ideal solution
lose-losewin-win
Advantageous to both sides
non-zero-sum · symbiotic · virtuous cycle · zero-sum · compromise
lose, lost, loss, loser, losing, losses, loses, losers, losable