in limbo
27
7.2
- idiom
- /ɪn ˈlɪmboʊ/
:
en suspenso
- For many selected to serve at the beginning of an administration, a year or more in limbo is typical.
- remain in limbo
- leaves them in limbo
So all of his money, all of his financial resources were in limbo.
- So all of his money, all of his financial resources were in limbo.
- So I was like, I was kind of in limbo.
- But, you know, it was still like this period of like a month where I was like in limbo.
- How does it make you feel, though, as an Afghan whose countrymen and women are presently living in limbo and refugee camps in Pakistan?
- And so we had to, and, and one of the bills still has, is still in limbo.
Examples
-
Congress has made a huge mistake by leaving taxpayers in limbo for more than 10 months.
Blog text (3) -
The result, though, is that more kids remain in limbo as their parents wait for help.
Academic text (2003) -
Some of us had already arrived and spent the day at the airport in limbo, waiting.
-
We're stuck here in limbo.
-
It's horrible to be stuck in limbo, with no way of getting news.
Blog text (17) -
Havar, who has two children, said her family has been living in limbo for almost a year.
-
What this does to a nominee's life is it leaves them in limbo...
Academic text (2003) -
Both professions seem to be caught in limbo, struggling to react to the changing world around them.
Blog text (26) -
A long-proposed permanent storage facility at Yucca Mountain in Nevada remains in limbo.
Academic text (2011) -
Many employees have been left in limbo as they await news about their job security.
Synonyms
75
2.9
Not yet sure which option or side to choose
37
6.8
To be in a situation where the result is not decided, for example a job or game
31
4.7
Not yet decided or settled
22
4.2
Not decided or final, for example a question, a plan
3
8.2
Waiting to be acted on or decided
1
7.8
A situation with no decision or guidance that leaves people unsure
Antonyms
How Certain
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'in an uncertain or undecided state' is directly and compositionally derived from the preposition 'in' plus the noun 'limbo' (a state of suspension or stall). This is a straightforward locative/metaphorical state construction that follows common patterns across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
In limbo comes from the old idea of a place called limbo, a kind of 'edge' where souls had to 'wait' between two worlds. So, when something is in limbo today, it means it is stuck in an uncertain, 'waiting' state and not decided yet.