keeping options open
Not deciding yet
Keeping options open means avoiding commitment to preserve future choices.
Rather than deciding now, you delay so alternatives remain available: I'm keeping my options open until I hear back from both companies.
The phrase often signals strategic hesitation—unwillingness to close doors that might prove useful later.
- flexibilityAbility to adapt easily
- hedgingNoncommittal maneuvering
- undecidedNot having chosen
- on the fenceNot yet committed
- possibilitiesThings that may occur
wait and see · waiting · holding pattern · noncommittal · wiggle room · backup plan · plan B · tentative · exploratory · test the waters · uncommitted · playing the field · shopping around · fence-sitting · indecisive · safety net · fallback · contingency
- indecisionindecision, indecisiveness, conflicted, hesitation, indecisive
- Noncommittalneutral, undecided, on the fence, noncommittal, indifferent
- casual datingfling, hookup, friends with benefits, FWB, one-night stand
- avoidanceavoidance, distancing, evasion, dodging, pulling away
- self-interestself-interest, selfishness, egoism, look out for number one, every man for himself
keeping options opencommitting
Carrying out an act
locking in · choosing · deciding · going all in · taking the plunge
keeping options openpainting oneself into a corner
Creating an inescapable situation
keeping, keeps, keeper, keepers, option, options, optional, optionally, opting