all-or-nothing

[ awl-er-nuhth-ing ]

adjective

1. not allowing for qualification or compromise; either fully or not at all operative:

   an all-or-nothing approach.

Word History and Origins

Origin of all-or-nothing¹

First recorded in 1755–65

Example Sentences

Increased all-or-nothing thinking can also be linked to changes in cognitive ability, Pennebaker wrote, adding: “Another person whose all-or-nothing thinking has gone up is Biden.”

From Los Angeles Times

The offspring don’t have to look far to see that if they are caught and extradited to the U.S., choosing to go to trial is a high-risk, all-or-nothing gamble that rarely ends with walking free.

From Los Angeles Times

When it comes to their children, parents tend to worry about the worst-case scenario and see things in all-or-nothing terms, Alvord said.

From Los Angeles Times

In the lower courts, the immunity question was debated as an all-or-nothing matter.

From Los Angeles Times

The oral histories chronicle Mr. Obama’s journey from an uninformed candidate embarrassed by the banalities he found himself spouting on the campaign trail to a besieged president gambling his political future on all-or-nothing legislative brinkmanship.

From New York Times

Related Words

• hard-line
• inflexible
• uncompromising
• unyielding