double bind

noun

1. 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.

2. dilemma.

double bind

noun

1. a situation of conflict from which there is no escape; unresolvable dilemma

Word History and Origins

Origin of double bind¹

An Americanism dating back to 1955–60

Example Sentences

This creates a vicious double bind for average employees.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The group dynamic is what interests Young most because what lies beneath is an inherent "double bind".

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The straightforward Fed logic of lowering borrowing costs when the economy is struggling and raising them to counter rapid inflation is put in a double bind by the hypothetical, and Powell admitted as much.

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Harris, like other Black women, experiences the double bind of having to navigate racism and sexism.

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This government determining standards that contradict what children learn at home places them in a double bind.

Read more on Seattle Times

Related Words

• difficulty 
• embarrassment 
• impasse 
• mess 
• plight 
• predicament 
• problem 
• puzzle 
• quandary