Meaning of vague in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Classifying Adjective
    1. Definitions
  3. Qualitative Adjective
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /veɪɡ/

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  1. Classifying Adjective

    vague

    Definitions

    1. not clearly understood or expressed

    Examples

    • « an obscure turn of phrase »
    • « an impulse to go off and fight certain obscure battles of his own spirit-Anatole Broyard »
    • « their descriptions of human behavior become vague, dull, and unclear- P.A.Sorokin »
    • « vague...for »

    Synonyms

  2. 2. lacking clarity or distinctness

    Examples

    • « a dim figure in the distance »
    • « only a faint recollection »
    • « shadowy figures in the gloom »
    • « saw a vague outline of a building through the fog »
    • « a few wispy memories of childhood »

    Synonyms

  3. Qualitative Adjective

    vague

    Etymology

    mid 16th century: from French, or from Latin vagus‘wandering, uncertain’

    Definitions

    1. not precisely limited, determined, or distinguished

    Examples

    • « an undefined term »
    • « undefined authority »
    • « some undefined sense of excitement »
    • « vague feelings of sadness »
    • « a vague uneasiness »

    Synonyms

    Antonyms

Famous quotes

  • « These seem to me so ambiguous, so vague, so easily misunderstood in comparison to genuine music, which fills the soul with a thousand things better than words. »
    Felix Mendelssohn
  • « Moreover, behind this vague tendency to treat religion as a side issue in modern life, there exists a strong body of opinion that is actively hostile to Christianity and that regards the destruction of positive religion as absolutely necessary to the advance of modern culture. »
    Christopher Dawson
  • « I seldom think about my limitations, and they never make me sad. Perhaps there is just a touch of yearning at times but it is vague, like a breeze among flowers. »
    Helen Keller
  • « We cannot sacrifice innocent human life now for vague and exaggerated promises of medical treatments thirty of forty years from now. There are ways to pursue this technology and respect life at the same time. »
    Ernest Istook
  • « We tried war, we tried aggression, we tried intervention. None of it works. Why don't we try peace, as a science of human relations, not as some vague notion - as everyday work. »
    Dennis Kucinich

See also

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