Synonyms of vicious circle

vicious circle

noun

variants also vicious cycle

as in cycle

a repeating situation or condition in which one problem causes another problem that makes the first problem worse

We're trapped in a vicious circle of needing to borrow money in order to pay debts.

Related Words

• cycle
• chain
• circle
• continuum
• belt
• chain reaction
• sequence
• string
• nexus
• train
• progression
• spectrum
• consecution
• scale
• flow
• concatenation
• river
• catenation
• catena
• row
• stream
• gauntlet
• file
• gamut
• succession
• queue
• range
• line

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of vicious circle

Talent marketplaces have the potential to break workforce development out of this vicious circle. — Ryan Craig, Forbes.com, 31 Mar. 2026

If people believed that inner joy was an index of personal redemption, then some might also read their own low mood as signs of their abandonment by God and fall into a vicious circle of self-reinforcing anguish. — Literary Hub, 10 Mar. 2026

Thanks to the vicious circle Beijing has created, the economy now routinely struggles to reach its annual growth target of five percent and is constantly battling deflation. — Dan Wang, Foreign Affairs, 19 Aug. 2025

This vicious circle means that for electric-plane design, adding batteries to boost range isn't a viable strategy. — IEEE Spectrum, 24 May 2016

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