Word.ws English Dictionary

damned if one does and damned if one doesn't

damned if one does and damned if one doesn't adjective: of a situation where either choice results in a negative outcome.

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)
    • If John leaves for New York to follow his career, his father will disinherit him. He's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

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

alternative formdamned if one does, and damned if one doesn't
alternative formone's damned if one does and one's damned if one doesn't
alternative formone's damned if one does, and one's damned if one doesn't

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

What does damned if one does and damned if one doesn't mean?
Damned if one does and damned if one doesn't means of a situation where either choice results in a negative outcome.
What part of speech is damned if one does and damned if one doesn't?
Damned if one does and damned if one doesn't is an adjective.

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

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

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: 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.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-damned if one does and damned if one doesn't.ogg.

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