Faustian bargain



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Faustian bargain

An agreement, bargain, or deal in which a person sacrifices or abandons his or her moral, ethical, or spiritual values in favor of wealth, power, or other benefits. A reference to the legend of Faust, who sold his soul to the devil for unlimited knowledge and power. I fear we might have devised something of a Faustian bargain for ourselves with our overdependence on technology, having traded in every speck of our private lives for flashy gadgets and convenience. She struck a Faustian bargain with the competitors, selling her own company's secrets for shares in each of their companies.
See also: bargain

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
Narses-Ancient Persian (Hellenized)
DuncanDUN-kən (English)Scottish, English
FanniFAHN-nee (Finnish), FAWN-nee (Hungarian)Finnish, Hungarian
Maribel-Spanish
Jengo-Eastern African, Swahili
Emanuele-Italian