vicious circle
Use Vicious circle in a sentencevicious circle
1785–95
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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| vicious circle | |
| —n | |
| 1. | Also: vicious cycle a situation in which an attempt to resolve one problem creates new problems that lead back to the original situation |
| 2. | logic |
| a. a form of reasoning in which a conclusion is inferred from premises the truth of which cannot be established independently of that conclusion | |
| b. an explanation given in terms that cannot be understood independently of that which was to be explained | |
| c. a situation in which some statement is shown to entail its negation and vice versa, as this statement is false is true only if false and false only if true | |
| 3. | med a condition in which one disease or disorder causes another, which in turn aggravates the first condition |
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| danh thue, phat, bat ai lam gi do |
| strife in debate; dispute; controversy. |
vicious circle vi·cious circle (vĭsh'əs)
n.
A condition in which a disorder or disease gives rise to another that subsequently affects the first.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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vicious circle definition
A series of reactions that compound an initial unfortunate occurrence or situation: “A person who is overweight is likely to feel frustrated and to deal with this frustration by eating more; it's a vicious circle.”
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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vicious circle
A series of events in which each problem creates another and worsens the original one. For example, The fatter I get, the unhappier I am, so I eat to cheer myself up, which makes me fatter yet
it's a vicious circle. This expression comes from the French cercle vicieux, which in philosophy means "a circular proof"that is, the proof of one statement depends on a second statement, whose proof in turn depends on the first. One writer suggests that the English meaning of "vicious" helped the expression acquire its more pejorative present sense, used since 1839.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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