vicious circles

noun

variants also vicious cycles
plural of vicious circle
as in cycles
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.

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for vicious circles
  1. cycles
  2. chains
  3. circles
Noun
  • Staff who work at harm reduction clinics set up specifically to help men who use steroids tell me that twenty years ago there were fewer users, and those users took longer breaks between cycles at lower doses.
    — Gavin Francis, The New York Review of Books, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Just as in the previous 10 cycles, the current cycle combines economic concerns (including energy prices) and negative stories about incumbents in various offices.
    — Ron Elving, NPR, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of cycles
Noun
  • In the front yard of a home on Bray Road, there’s a huge snarling Beast carved out of an old diseased elm tree, held in place by heavy steel chains.
    — Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Fewer than a quarter of new cases are coming from people known to have been in contact with an infected person, showing there are ongoing chains of transmission that health authorities are not aware of.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of chains
Noun
  • Alon, Oren’s twin, was an executive at their family’s security firm and frequented the same social circles with his brothers.
    — Kara Scannell, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The film slowly relates that the aspiring rapper and superfan ingratiated himself into the band’s circles, flying to New York multiple times as a teenager for the purpose.
    — Brian Boucher, ARTnews.com, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of circles
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

vicious circle
vicious circles
viciously
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Cite this Entry

“Vicious circles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vicious%20circles. Accessed 31 Oct. 2026.

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