VICIOUS CIRCLE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does vicious circle mean? 

• VICIOUS CIRCLE (noun)
  The noun VICIOUS CIRCLE has 2 senses:

1. one trouble leads to another that aggravates the first

2. an argument that assumes that which is to be proved

  Familiarity information: VICIOUS CIRCLE used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• VICIOUS CIRCLE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

One trouble leads to another that aggravates the first

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Synonyms:

vicious circle; vicious cycle

Hypernyms ("vicious circle" is a kind of...):

positive feedback; regeneration (feedback in phase with (augmenting) the input)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An argument that assumes that which is to be proved

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("vicious circle" is a kind of...):

specious argument (an argument that appears good at first view but is really fallacious)

 Context examples 

Dr Richard Bevan Jones added, “There may be a vicious circle where cell damage triggers inflammation, which in turn leads to further cell damage.”

(Inflammation in the brain linked to several forms of dementia, University of Cambridge)

In turn, some of the proinflammatory cytokines produced by the inflammatory activation alter the clock genes themselves, setting in motion a vicious circle that fosters an exaggerated inflammatory response.

(New study sheds fresh light on the genetic mechanisms involved in sepsis, the leading cause of death in ICUs, University of Granada)