Word.ws English Dictionary

damned if one does, and damned if one doesn't

damned if one does, and damned if one doesn't is the alternative form of damned if one does and damned if one doesn't.

Meaning of damned if one does and damned if one doesn't

Adjective

damned if one does and damned if one doesn't (not comparable)

  1. (idiomatic, informal) Of a situation where either choice results in a negative outcome.
    • You can and you can't—You shall and you shan't—You will and you won't—And you will be damned if you do—And you will be damned if you don't.1836, Lorenzo Dow, Reflections on the Love of God (1836), ch. 6, p. 30 (on the doctrine of Particular Election)

Questions about damned if one does, and damned if one doesn't

What is damned if one does, and damned if one doesn't the alternative form of?
Damned if one does, and damned if one doesn't is the alternative form of damned if one does and damned if one doesn't.

Words near damned if one does, and damned if one doesn't in the dictionary

  1. damnds
  2. damned
  3. damned by association
  4. damned if I know
  5. damned if one does and damned if one doesn't
  6. damned if one does, and damned if one doesn't
  7. damned the torpedoes
  8. damned well
  9. damneder
  10. damnedest
  11. damnedst

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: damned if one does, and damned if one doesn't (page history and authors); damned if one does and damned if one doesn't (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “damned if one does, and damned if one doesn't.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/damned_if_one_does%2C_and_damned_if_one_doesn%27t. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.