no-win situation
Catch-22 type dilemma
A no-win situation is a circumstance where every available choice leads to an undesirable outcome.
No matter what you do, you lose something: It was a no-win situation—if I spoke up I'd be fired, if I stayed quiet I'd be complicit.
Also called a lose-lose situation or, more formally, a dilemma.
- Catch-22Self-defeating logical trap
- rock and a hard placeSituation with only bad choices
- double bindSituation with contradictory demands
- zugzwangObligatory weakening move situation
- lose-loseSituation without good outcomes
dilemma · dead end · paradox · Faustian bargain · Pyrrhic victory · worst-case scenario · quandary · checkmate · Kafkaesque · vicious circle · knot · conundrum · impasse · Greek tragedy · zero-sum game · standoff · backs against the wall · deadlock
- impassesimpasse, deadlock, stalemate, standstill, gridlock
- predicamentspredicament, dilemma, bind, pickle, pinch
- tough choicestradeoffs, compromises, sacrifices, work-life balance, needs versus wants
- futilityfutile, futility, in vain, pointlessness, vain
- paradoxescatch-22, Zeno's paradox, Zeno's paradoxes, causal loop, bootstrap paradox
- Standoffsdeadlock, stalemate, standoff, impasse, gridlock
no-win situationwin-win situation
Outcome benefiting all parties
win-win · sure thing · slam dunk · home run · golden opportunity
situation, situations, winless, situational, unwinnable, no-win