A Vicious Cycle.
English
idiom
A repeating pattern where each problem causes another.
Trusted by1.5M+English learners & teachers worldwide
A repeating pattern where each problem causes another.
Trusted by1.5M+English learners & teachers worldwide
A repeating pattern where each problem creates the next one.
When you're in a vicious cycle, fixing the symptom feeds the cause, so the situation keeps getting worse on its own.
Breaking it usually needs an outside change rather than more effort.
"A Catch-22"
—
A trap where every option is blocked
"A Downward Spiral"
—
Steady decline without the feedback loop
"A Vicious Cycle"
—
Each problem causing the next
We're in a vicious cycle: too busy to fix what's making us busy.
Then we stop something else this week.
I sleep badly, so I work late, so I sleep badly.
That's a vicious cycle — something external has to break it.
The later I start, the longer it takes.
Classic vicious cycle.
