Meaning & use
limbo feeling
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Meaning
nouncountable
An uncomfortable sense of being stuck in an unclear situation with no clear next step.
Grammar: Usually singular; can be used with 'a' or 'the'. For example, 'a limbo feeling' or 'the limbo feeling'.
Patterns
- a limbo feeling about something
- the limbo feeling of doing something
- be in a limbo feeling
After graduating, she had a limbo feeling — not quite a student, not yet a professional.
The limbo feeling of waiting for test results made it hard to concentrate.
He described a limbo feeling during the divorce, as if his life were on hold.
Word forms
| plural | limbo feelings |
|---|
Common combinations
- a limbo feeling about something
- She had a limbo feeling about the move — excited but also scared.
- the limbo feeling of waiting
- The limbo feeling of waiting for a reply is worse than a clear no.
- be in a limbo feeling
- After the layoff, he was in a limbo feeling for months.
- a general limbo feeling
- There was a general limbo feeling in the office before the merger was announced.
Synonyms and how they differ
- uncertainty
- Uncertainty is broader and can be neutral; a limbo feeling specifically suggests being stuck between two states and feeling uneasy.
- suspense
- Suspense is about excitement or anxiety while waiting for something to happen; a limbo feeling is more about being in an unresolved situation.
- indecision
- Indecision is about not being able to choose; a limbo feeling is about the situation itself being unclear, not just your choice.
Word family
- limbo noun
- A state of uncertainty or a place between two states; 'in limbo' means stuck.
Commonly confused: limbo feeling or limbo (dance)?
limbo feeling vs limbo (dance)
The limbo is also a dance where you bend backward under a pole. The 'limbo feeling' is unrelated to the dance.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'limbo feeling' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 0 correctly uses 'limbo feeling' to describe unease about an unclear situation. Option 1 confuses it with the limbo dance. Option 2 mistakes it for a music genre. Option 3 uses 'limbo' as a verb, which is not standard.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “limbo feeling”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.