Meanings
- idiomaticWithout information.
They remained in the dark until the newspaper story came out.
3 more examples
Management kept the board of directors completely in the dark.
You must remember, Mr Atherton, that I am wholly in the dark as to what has happened.
1897, Richard Marsh, The BeetleUntil two or three days before Carter's December 15 announcement, the State Department spokesman was still saying that no decisions had been reached on the timing and the modality for normalization of relations with Peking. Meanwhile, the administration had been keeping Congress, including its leadership, completely in the dark. Then, taking advantage of the Christmas holidays, during which no one was watching on Capitol Hill, Carter sprang his surprise.
1983, James C. H. Shen, “Beginnings of Endings”, in Robert Myers, editor, The U.S. & Free China: How the U.S. Sold Out Its Ally, Washington, D.C.: Acropolis Books Ltd., →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 18Synonyms: out of the loop, out of touch · Antonyms: in the know, in the loop
- slangcard gamesWithout looking at one's hole cards, thus not knowing what they are.
Synonyms & antonyms
prepositional phraseWithout information.
Translations
Catalan a les fosques, a les fosques
- a les fosqueswithout information
- a les fosqueswithout light
German im Dunkeln, im Dunkeln
- im Dunkelnwithout information
- im Dunkelnwithout light
Italian all'oscuro, all'oscuro
- all'oscurowithout information
- all'oscurowithout light
- nel buiowithout light
Polish niewtajemniczony, niewiedzący
- niewtajemniczonywithout information
- niewiedzącywithout looking at one's hole cards
- po ciemkuwithout light
Portuguese no escuro
- no escurowithout information
Spanish en la inopia, (dejar) en mantillas
- en la inopiawithout information
- (dejar) en mantillaswithout information
- a oscuraswithout light
- en la oscuridadwithout light
Cite this entry
in the dark. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20dark
“in the dark.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20dark. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in the dark,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20dark.
Source: in the dark on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.