as in dilemma
a difficult, puzzling, or embarrassing situation from which there is no easy escape
shoreline residents are finding themselves helplessly falling down a rabbit hole in their Sisyphean efforts to halt beach erosion
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rabbit hole
Showcasing that is really important, just to see the slippery slope and to see someone so strong go down this rabbit hole.
—
James Grebey, Vulture, 2 May 2025
In ordinary times, the likes of Dawn would be dismissed as crackpots, but in pandemic limbo, with everyone bored and at a loose end, her weird suppositions start to get traction, sending everyone down internet rabbit holes.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 16 May 2025
Sourcing + Trends Calendar The Archive Apply Now >>
Need to Know
From cabinetry to millwork to flooring, the comfort of richer wood hues resonates again in uncertain times
Of the seemingly infinite home design and improvement topic rabbit holes to fall into, handling millwork is a profound one.
—Jessica Ritz, Architectural Digest, 14 May 2025
Sometimes there’s light at the end of the rabbit hole.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 7 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rabbit hole
James Grebey, Vulture, 2 May 2025
In ordinary times, the likes of Dawn would be dismissed as crackpots, but in pandemic limbo, with everyone bored and at a loose end, her weird suppositions start to get traction, sending everyone down internet rabbit holes.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 16 May 2025
Sourcing + Trends Calendar The Archive Apply Now >>
Need to Know
From cabinetry to millwork to flooring, the comfort of richer wood hues resonates again in uncertain times
Of the seemingly infinite home design and improvement topic rabbit holes to fall into, handling millwork is a profound one.
—Jessica Ritz, Architectural Digest, 14 May 2025
Sometimes there’s light at the end of the rabbit hole.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 7 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rabbit hole
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rabbit hole
Noun
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Many of Cuomo’s mayoral race opponents have condemned the spending, saying the PAC gives him an unfair advantage in the race and poses an ethical dilemma since many of its contributors have city government business interests.—
Chris Sommerfeldt,
New York Daily News,
27 May 2025
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Here are eight passages that capture the new pope’s thinking as a young scholar on leadership, authority and some of the church’s most pressing dilemmas.—
Ruth Graham,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
Noun
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In fact, the predicament of Enphase Energy illustrates the risks of heavily investing in a single stock.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
3 June 2025
-
Two boaters were rescued from a treacherous predicament on a raging river in Maryland, officials said.—
Brooke Baitinger,
Miami Herald,
21 May 2025
Noun
-
With them, came pickles, tomato sauce and jammy eggs.—
Laurie Ochoa,
Los Angeles Times,
24 May 2025
-
Subsequent clips show Bad Bunny threatening a bruised and boxer-clad Hank, and Regina King trying to help the unintentional accomplice out of the pickle that he’s suddenly found himself in.—
Emlyn Travis Published,
EW.com,
21 May 2025
Noun
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Other cavity nesters such as woodpeckers will make holes in trees, and those can also be adopted by tree swallows, flickers, kestrels and chickadees.—
Ernie Cowan,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 May 2025
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For decades, conservationists successfully plugged that hole by arguing in court that the ESA’s prohibition of harm to individual species includes destroying a species’ habitat.—
Emma Marris,
The Atlantic,
25 May 2025
Noun
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Some frustrated residents say the bureaucratic bind is emblematic of long-standing discrimination.—
Stephanie Yang,
Los Angeles Times,
22 May 2025
-
On Rikers, a thicket of laws and lore, regulations and culture bind and barnacle decision-making.—
Elizabeth Glazer,
New York Daily News,
18 May 2025
Noun
-
In Louisiana, alligators live mostly along the state’s coastal marshes but also can be found in its canals, bayous, rivers and swamps.—
Noël Fletcher,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2025
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From swamp to salinity In Western Australia, sediment cores from the beds of Lake Aerodrome, Gastropod Lake and Prado Lake reveal how long-term drying can change the ecology of a region.—
Francisca Oboh Ikuenobe,
The Conversation,
20 May 2025
Noun
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Then after a Courtney Williams steal, Collier found McBride in the opposite corner for another 3-pointer, giving the Lynx an 80-56 lead.—
Patrick Donnelly,
Twin Cities,
4 June 2025
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The suspect conducted a hostile takeover of a 2011 White Ford F550 utility bucket truck on the corner of Spring and Temple streets at 5:40 a.m. while two deputies were in the vehicle, according to a department bulletin.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
4 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rabbit hole.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rabbit%20hole. Accessed 8 Jun. 2025.
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