vague
Pronunciation Adjective

vague (comparative vaguer, superlative vaguest)

  1. Not clearly expressed; stated in indefinite terms.
    • 2004: Chris Wallace, Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage
      Throughout the first week of his presidency, Dulles and Bissell continued to brief Kennedy on their strategy for Cuba, but the men were vague and their meetings offered little in the way of hard facts.
    inarticulate, Synonyms: unclear; see also Thesaurus:incomprehensible
  2. Not having a precise meaning.
    a vague term of abuse
    Synonyms: ambiguous, equivocal
  3. Not clearly defined, grasped, or understood; indistinct; slight.
    only a vague notion of what’s needed
    a vague hint of a thickening waistline
    I haven’t the vaguest idea.
    Synonyms: ambiguous, equivocal, indistinct, obscure, Thesaurus:vague
  4. Not clearly felt or sensed; somewhat subconscious.
    a vague longing
  5. Not thinking or expressing one’s thoughts clearly or precisely.
    • 1962, Philip Larkin, "Toads Revisited"
      Waxed-fleshed out-patients / Still vague from accidents, / And characters in long coats / Deep in the litter-baskets […]
    Synonyms: dazed
  6. Lacking expression; vacant.
    Synonyms: vacant, vacuous
  7. Not sharply outlined; hazy.
    Synonyms: fuzzy, hazy, ill-defined, Thesaurus:indistinct
  8. Wandering; vagrant; vagabond.
    • to set upon the vague villains
    • 1819, John Keats, “The Eve of St. Agnes”, in Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, London: Printed [by Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey, […], published 1820, OCLC 927360557 ↗, stanza VIII, page 87 ↗:
      She danced along with vague, regardless eyes, / Anxious her lips, her breathing quick and short: [...]
    Synonyms: erratic, roaming, unsettled, vagrant, vagabond
Related terms

Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Translations Noun

vague (plural vagues)

  1. (obsolete) A wandering; a vagary.
  2. An indefinite expanse.
    • The gray vague of unsympathizing sea.
Verb

vague (vagues, present participle vaguing; past and past participle vagued)

  1. (archaic) to wander; to roam; to stray.
    • [The soul] doth vague and wander.
  2. To become vague or act in a vague manner.



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