black-or-white

adjective

: black-and-white entry 1 sense 5

… a simple but powerful idea that throws a wrench of complexity into the usual black-or-white arguments over free trade.

—Michael Pollan, Mother Jones, May/June 2003

Studies suggest that suicidal individuals tend to categorize events or experiences into polar extremes. They rigidly adopt an absolutist, black-or-white perspective and experience difficulty acknowledging nuances, subtleties, or relativistic alternatives.

—Mark A. Reinecke et al., Cognitive-Behavioral Strategies in Crisis Intervention, 2007

Applications generally embody black-or-white choices bound by rigid logic …

—Steve Ditlea, PC Computing, May 1994

Diagnoses are not always clear-cut, black-or-white propositions. There are many that include gray areas.

—Paul G. Donohue, Springfield (Massachusetts) Daily News, 20 June 1986

Word History

First Known Use

1979, in the meaning defined above

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