Showing results for no-win situation. Search instead for off-again situationship.

Synonyms

no-win situation

Idioms

A situation certain to end in failure or disappointment, as in If the in-laws visit them or they visit the in-laws, either way they see it as a no-win situation. [c. 1960]

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.

See Examples For:

no-win situation

I’ve put machines, and my friends and family, in a no-win situation.

From Slate ● May 6, 2026

"They have got themselves into this no-win situation where Bashir's now become sort of unselectable and that's not a good thing," former England spinner Phil Tufnell told the Test Match Special podcast.

From BBC ● Dec. 24, 2025

The end result: Renters get caught in something of a no-win situation.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2025

Building a universally pleasing story around Section 31 might be the Kobayashi Maru of the Trek universe — a no-win situation.

From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2025

I felt like I was in a no-win situation, but the battle would have been much harder to wage if I hadn't had my closest girlfriends in the trenches with me.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023