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Synonyms

double bind

American  

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 British  

noun

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of double bind

An Americanism dating back to 1955–60

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.

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