Meaning of Faustian bargain | Babel Free

Definitions

1. An agreement in which a person abandons his or her spiritual values or moral principles in order to obtain knowledge, wealth or other benefits.
   idiomatic
2. A deal in which one focuses on present gain without considering the long-term consequences.
   idiomatic

Equivalents

Examples

“The university’s abandonment of its founding value of academic freedom in exchange for the corporation’s large financial contribution was a Faustian bargain.”

“Most people nowadays, in this country at least, do not seem to be able to see anything else but money. They would cheerfully sell their souls to hell for it. Quite a number of them, according to the tencent magazines, have already made this Faustian bargain.”

“I've made my Faustian bargain—for this woman, I've sold my immortal soul …”

“A number of characters in Middle-earth engage in some kind of Faustian bargain where they are tempted with promises of power, wealth, and status. This is how Sauron ensnares the kings of men and dwarves with the elf-crafted rings of power.”

“Rejuvenation was associated with a reinvigorated sex drive, and this connection generated an anxiety expressed in the Faustian bargain: damnation for a few extra years of carnal pleasure.”

“It has been remarked that all technology is a Faustian bargain: one obtains conveniences and sometimes luxuries, but in exchange one gets an increased potential for catastrophe.”

“And the law's long arm loosened its grip on some drug dealers when prosecutors offered them deals for their testimony. "The government was hell-bent on convicting [Manuel] Noriega no matter what the cost," said Rep. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., chair of the House Subcommittee on Crime and Criminal Justice. "When you look at some of the Faustian bargains that were struck, you have to wonder: Did we really have to burn the village down in order to save it?"”

“But for decades, many executives actually employed sokaiya as muscle to keep unruly investors in check during their choreographed annual meetings. [...] Yet executives' reliance on mobsters turned out to be a Faustian bargain. By the 1970s, the sokaiya had figured out how to become stockholders themselves and threaten to ask embarrassing questions at annual meetings.”

“Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. [...] used a speech at Moscow State University to criticize Russia’s legal and political systems, a move likely to irritate the country's leaders. [...] “I urge all you students here: Don’t compromise on the basic elements of democracy. You need not make that Faustian bargain.””

CEFR level