Meaning & use
in-between state
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A situation or period that is between two clear stages or conditions, with no definite identity.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'an in-between state' or 'in-between states'.
Patterns
- in an in-between state
- the in-between state between something and something
After graduating, she was in an in-between state, not quite a student and not yet a professional.
The company found itself in an in-between state while waiting for the merger to be approved.
Living abroad left him in an in-between state, belonging fully to neither culture.
Word forms
| plural | in-between states |
|---|
Common combinations
- in an in-between state
- The project is in an in-between state, neither finished nor abandoned.
- a kind of in-between state
- Adolescence is a kind of in-between state between childhood and adulthood.
- remain in an in-between state
- The negotiations remained in an in-between state for months.
Synonyms and how they differ
- limbo
- Limbo suggests a frustrating, prolonged uncertainty; an in-between state is more neutral and can be temporary or natural.
- transition
- Transition focuses on the process of change; an in-between state focuses on the condition of being between two things.
Commonly confused: in-between state or in between?
in-between state vs in between
In between is a preposition or adverb meaning 'between two things', while in-between state is a noun phrase describing a condition.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'in-between state' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 0 correctly uses 'in-between state' as a noun phrase with 'in an'. The others misuse it as a verb or preposition.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “in-between state”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.