How to Use catch-22 in a Sentence

catch-22

noun
  • For tourists obsessed with beating the crowds, Covid-19 is a catch-22.
    — Laura Mallonee, Wired, 12 Apr. 2020
  • Makowski said that victims will be caught in a catch-22.
    — Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press, 3 Dec. 2019
  • Nichols, the mother of four, described a catch-22 faced by low-income workers in the area.
    — Jonnelle Marte, Washington Post, 13 Aug. 2019
  • The catch-22: Nobody wants to deal with the filth and crime, yet nobody with a heart wants others to suffer due to the high cost of housing.
    — Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 2 Oct. 2024
  • With new freedoms came, of course, new rules and regulations — and a sort of catch-22 for High Times.
    — Avi Selk, Washington Post, 19 Apr. 2018
  • Really, this is the catch-22 at the heart of the modern celebrity CEO and social media.
    — Callum Booth, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
  • At its inception, though, production of NIO’s first car faces a bit of a catch-22.
    — Sean O'Kane, The Verge, 19 Aug. 2018
  • The unrelenting catch-22 of Moren’s job is that a program never stands still.
    — Zach Osterman, Indianapolis Star, 5 Mar. 2020
  • While new sunscreen formulas have been available for over a decade in other countries, Andrews says that the FDA has left the public with a catch-22.
    — Rachel Nussbaum, Glamour, 15 May 2018
  • Xi’s growing alignment with Moscow presents something of a catch-22 for China.
    — Jude Blanchette, Foreign Affairs, 21 Feb. 2022
  • Naming your daughter after a city, state, country or natural landscape is a bit of a catch-22.
    — Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Jan. 2025
  • The Catch-22 is that the guarantees gave drillers the security to boost output, undercutting the rally.
    — Alex Nussbaum, Bloomberg.com, 12 May 2017
  • Thus, Brussels faces a catch-22: Without coronabonds, populism may overwhelm the south; with coronabonds, populism may rise in the north.
    — Peter Rough, National Review, 22 Apr. 2020
  • Focusing on fireworks can sometimes present a catch-22.
    — AL.com, 3 July 2017
  • For decades, franchise employees who wished to bargain collectively were caught in a catch-22.
    — Mark Joseph Stern, Slate Magazine, 19 Dec. 2017
  • Interventions that target trust could therefore be part of a solution to the catch-22 of loneliness.
    — Marta Zaraska, Quanta Magazine, 28 Feb. 2023
  • If anything, Kennedy gave voice to the punishing catch-22 that has kept women from the helm of Hollywood's largest, most lucrative properties for, well, the entire history of the art form.
    — Adam B. Vary, chicagotribune.com, 10 Dec. 2019
  • This proves to be something of a catch-22 when Ned brings his childhood crush Chuck (Anna Friel) back to life, only to realize that a physical relationship with her is now out of the question.
    — EW.com, 9 Nov. 2023
  • In the debut episode of goop's new podcast, The Beauty Closet, Paltrow spoke openly about how being celebrated for her appearance has been something of a catch-22.
    — Lauren Valenti, Vogue, 26 July 2019
  • In the meantime, North American paleontologists have been caught in a catch-22.
    — Michael Greshko, National Geographic, 10 Sep. 2019
  • Traveling the distance necessary to reach one often requires a car—a catch-22 for those without licenses.
    — Andrew Cockburn, Harper's magazine, 6 Jan. 2020
  • The catch-22 is that Gordon arguably shouldn’t be doubling up on roles too much this early in the season — especially in the immediate aftermath of his own injury.
    — Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 7 Dec. 2024
  • The catch-22 is that Gordon arguably shouldn’t be doubling up on roles too much this early in the season — especially in the immediate aftermath of his own injury.
    — Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 7 Dec. 2024
  • Every legacy automaker is facing this catch-22 right now.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 24 Nov. 2020
  • Select the right seat People who deal with migraines tend to be ultra-sensitive to motion sickness, which is a catch-22 because motion sickness can trigger an attack.
    — Cheyenne Buckingham, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Nov. 2024
  • Select the right seat People who deal with migraines tend to be ultra-sensitive to motion sickness, which is a catch-22 because motion sickness can trigger an attack.
    — Cheyenne Buckingham, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Nov. 2024
  • California is also in danger of creating an energy catch-22 whereby the push to go green could hobble the state’s clean power efforts.
    — George Avalos, The Mercury News, 7 Jan. 2025
  • Consumers will face a catch-22: Click and risk a virus or a scam, or don’t click and miss potentially legitimate information about why a debt collector is going after you and how to dispute the debt.
    — David Vladeck, WIRED, 23 Aug. 2019
  • In retrospect, an exposition-heavy and tonally iffy first season is a bit of a catch-22 for a show like Buffy; its brilliance really did require a depth that could only be created over time.
    — Devon Maloney, VanityFair.com, 10 Mar. 2017
  • For years, Oregon has found itself in a Catch-22 with in-state recruiting - elite enough that only a few local kids each year fit its profile, but not so good as to ignore the state altogether, alienating high school programs in the process.
    — Andrew Nemec, OregonLive.com, 7 June 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'catch-22.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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