hidden hand

British

noun

an unknown force or influence believed to be the cause of certain, often unfortunate, events

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

You’re talking about the hidden hand of heat, which I hadn’t really considered.

From Slate • Jul. 12, 2023

I thought I detected the hidden hand of artificial intelligence in his work.

From Washington Post • Apr. 10, 2023

He's continued to aim at me and the BBC, describing my reporting and the media reaction as being directed by a "hidden hand" which is desperate to silence the truth.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2023

“I don’t know if there was a connection, a hidden hand, if this had been set up,” he said.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 15, 2022

Already he knew that Shaughnessy was there, and matters were proceeding under the same masterly hand as of yore; only it was "the hidden hand" now, and all the more deadly for that reason.

From The Lash by Lyman, Olin L.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023