siege mentality
Us-versus-them defensiveness
A siege mentality is a defensive, embattled mindset in which a person or group believes they are constantly under attack or surrounded by hostile forces.
The term borrows from military sieges, where defenders are encircled and cut off from outside support.
Someone with a siege mentality tends to view outsiders with suspicion, reject criticism as persecution, and circle the wagons rather than engage openly.
The company's siege mentality prevented them from hearing valid customer complaints.
The phrase often carries negative connotations, suggesting paranoia or an unwillingness to consider outside perspectives.
- defensivenessResistance to perceived attack
- enemyHostile opposing party
- mindsetEstablished mental attitude
- beleagueredPersistently harassed or troubled
- embattledUnder sustained attack
backs against the wall · under attack · groupthink · paranoia · blockade · entrenchment · scapegoating · persecution · hypervigilance · us · isolationism · behind closed doors · tribalism · they · existential dread · tense · encircled · circle the wagons
- combat idiomsstab in the back, dodge a bullet, in the crosshairs, fire away, take a shot
- mindsetsgrowth mindset, fixed mindset, mindset, abundance mindset, scarcity mindset
- ___ mentality
- siegesbattering ram, trebuchet, catapult, scaling ladders, bombardment
- strategystrategy, grand strategy, tactics, tactic, tactical
- defense mechanismsdenial, projection, repression, suppression, displacement
siege mentalityopenness
Quality of being accessible
trust · open-mindedness · trusting nature · receptivity · good faith
siege mentalityopen-door policy
Unrestricted access principle
inclusive culture · cosmopolitanism · bridge-building · engagement · open society
siege mentalitycomplacency
Uncritical satisfaction with oneself
peace of mind · serenity · equanimity · naivety · blissful ignorance
siege, mentality, besiege, besieged, investiture, sieges, besieging, besieger, besiegers