Vague

//veɪɡ// adj, noun, verb

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 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. 2
    Not having a precise meaning.

    "a vague term of abuse"

  3. 3
    Not clearly defined, grasped, or understood; indistinct; slight.

    "only a vague notion of what’s needed"

  4. 4
    Not clearly felt or sensed; somewhat subconscious.

    "a vague longing"

  5. 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
  1. 6
    Lacking expression; vacant.
  2. 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."

  3. 8
    Wandering; vagrant; vagabond.

    "The Lord Gray incourag'd his men to set sharply upon the vague villains"

Adjective
  1. 1
    not clearly expressed or understood wordnet
  2. 2
    not precisely limited, determined, or distinguished wordnet
  3. 3
    lacking clarity or distinctness wordnet
Noun
  1. 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. 2
    A wandering; a vagary. obsolete

    "[T]he Scots had some leasure to plaie their vagues"

Verb
  1. 1
    to wander; to roam; to stray. archaic

    "[The soul] doth vague and wander."

  2. 2
    To become vague or act in a vague manner.

    "Vaguely, yes. I've vagued all my life; that's been my curse."

  3. 3
    To make vague negative comments publicly; to make highly veiled complaints or insults. Internet, intransitive

Etymology

Etymology 1

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

Etymology 2

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

Etymology 3

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

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