double bind
Americannoun
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Psychology. a situation in which a person is given conflicting cues, especially by a parent, such that to obey one cue is to disobey the other.
noun
Etymology
Origin of double bind
An Americanism dating back to 1955–60
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This creates a vicious double bind for average employees.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 12, 2025
In Sondheim’s lyrics, the double bind of attachment is often a source of agitation; in Ebb’s it is often a pummeling.
From New York Times • Jun. 23, 2023
Even more so than writers, actors face a double bind when it comes to labor disputes.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 7, 2023
"So there's that double bind - a lack of people now and the potential lack of finances to pay for them in the future."
From BBC • May 19, 2023
To me, it felt like a sanity-warping double bind.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
