Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Of or being a situation in which the outcome is detrimental or disadvantageous to each of two often opposing sides.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective A situation that has only negative outcomes
Etymologies
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Examples
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The decision of the association, which Cain headed in the late 90s when the alleged sexual harassment took place, looks like a lose-lose situation for him.
Herman Cain faces public airing of sexual harassment claims 2011
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In the Financial Times, Philip Stephens warns that last Friday's summit could go down in history as the moment that the UK "stumbled out of Europe":Mr Cameron's coalition is now in a lose-lose position.
Eurozone crisis: stock markets slide as summit optimism wanes - 12 December 2011 2011
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Tony Wible , an analyst for Janney Montgomery Scott, called the Netflix-Dreamworks agreement a "lose-lose" situation, cited the report of the estimated steep price of $30 million per film.
Netflix, Amazon Add to Movies Stu Woo 2011
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This is a lose-lose situation for both studios and audiences.
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Prison life is full of oxymorons, lose-lose situations.
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"The U.S. has no reason to criticize other countries' efforts to improve humanity's environment," the ministry said, adding that any anti-dumping steps in the solar power sector taken by the U.S. would create a "lose-lose" situation.
China Warns of 'Lose-Lose' Situation on U.S. Solar Probe Owen Fletcher 2011
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"Oil imports sanctions against Iran indicate a sad failure in international diplomacy and one that will ultimately create a lose-lose situation for both sides."
Fears that western sanctions on Iran could cripple local economy 2012
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This is creating a lose-lose for first-time buyers, as higher rents make saving for a deposit much harder whilst greater numbers of buy-to-let investors makes competition for cheaper property more intense.
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As he prepares his annual budget presentation Monday, India's Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee faces a lose-lose situation.
The Importance of Being Pranab Mukherjee Harsh Joshi 2011
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In the case of monetary inflation, businesses are in a lose-lose situation.
Think Progress » Ron Paul’s Foreign Policy Views Divide Southern Republican Leadership Conference 2010
Jerfdict commented on the word lose-lose
Lose-lose, win-win. What is the difference?
December 27, 2013