Vague

Common synonyms include: abstract, abstract noun, address oral inarticulacy, adumbrating, aimless, airy.

/veɪɡ/ adj, noun, verb

adj, noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level

Definitions

Noun

1
An indefinite expanse.
"The gray vague of unsympathizing sea / That dragged his fancy from her moorings back / To shores inhospitable of eldest time."
2
A wandering; a vagary. obsolete
"[T]he Scots had some leasure to plaie their vagues"

Verb

1
to wander; to roam; to stray. archaic
"[The soul] doth vague and wander."
2
To become vague or act in a vague manner.
"Vaguely, yes. I've vagued all my life; that's been my curse."
3
To make vague negative comments publicly; to make highly veiled complaints or insults. Internet, intransitive

Adjective

1
Not clearly expressed; stated in indefinite terms.
"It follows from what has been said that a vague thought has more likelihood of being true than a precise one. To try and hit an object with a vague thought is like trying to hit the bull's eye with a lump of putty: when the putty reaches the target, it flattens out all over it, and probably covers the bull's eye along with the rest. To try and hit an object with a precise thought is like trying to hit the bull's eye with a bullet. The advantage of the precise thought is that it distinguishes between the bull's eye and the rest of the target."
2
Not having a precise meaning.
"a vague term of abuse"
3
Not clearly defined, grasped, or understood; indistinct; slight.
"only a vague notion of what’s needed"
4
Not clearly felt or sensed; somewhat subconscious.
"a vague longing"
5
Not thinking or expressing one’s thoughts clearly or precisely.
"Waxed-fleshed out-patients / Still vague from accidents, / And characters in long coats / Deep in the litter-baskets […]"

Show 3 more definitions

6
Lacking expression; vacant.
7
Not sharply outlined; hazy.
"He walked. To the corner of Hamilton Place and Picadilly, and there stayed for a while, for it is a romantic station by night. The vague and careless rain looked like threads of gossamer silver passing across the light of the arc-lamps."
8
Wandering; vagrant; vagabond.
"The Lord Gray incourag'd his men to set sharply upon the vague villains"

Adjective

"This meeting is a waste of time. Everybody is just talking in vague theoretical terms."

From Middle French vague, from Latin vagus (“uncertain, vague”, literally “wandering, rambling, strolling”).