Abilene paradox

noun

The situation where a group of people collectively decide on a course of action that goes against the preferences of many or all of the individuals in the group, because the individuals choose to side with what they believe is the majority preference.

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Meanings

nounAbilene paradox (plural Abilene paradoxes)

plural Abilene paradoxes

  1. The situation where a group of people collectively decide on a course of action that goes against the preferences of many or all of the individuals in the group, because the individuals choose to side with what they believe is the majority preference.

Origin

Introduced by Jerry B. Harvey in his 1974 article "The Abilene Paradox: The Management of Agreement", which described the example of a group deciding to travel to Abilene, Texas, for dinner.

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Cite this entry
APA

Abilene paradox. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Abilene%20paradox

MLA

“Abilene paradox.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Abilene%20paradox. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Abilene paradox,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Abilene%20paradox.

Source: Abilene paradox on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.