gray area
noun
: an area or situation in which it is difficult to judge what is right and what is wrong
There are no gray areas in the rules.
a legal gray area
Examples of gray area in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The housing authority sits in a regulatory gray area.
—
Journal Sentinel, 22 Apr. 2024
But those narratives are rarely true, and most situations fall into a gray area.
—David Oliver, USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2024
And still others operate in a gray area created by the national trend toward decriminalization, which has reduced risks and increased rewards associated with black-market marijuana.
—Sebastian Rotella, ProPublica, 22 Mar. 2024
That leaves countries like Brazil in a kind of do-everything gray area, said Mercedes Bustamante, a professor and ecologist at the University of Brasília, and a member of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group, an independent group of scientists.
—Max Bearak, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
For underage girls, there is less of a legal gray area — but enforcement and paths to recourse have been lackluster, leaving some child deepfake victims disillusioned.
—Kat Tenbarge, NBC News, 1 Mar. 2024
But without school policies explicitly allowing it, the students’ ability to bring naloxone to class falls into a gray area.
—Rae Ellen Bichell, CNN, 29 Feb. 2024
In Maui County, tiny homes fall into a legal gray area, housing advocates said.
—Reis Thebault, Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2024
As our Constitution and Supreme Court currently stand, both protections and restrictions sit in a gray area on the federal level.
—The San Diego Union-Tribune Staff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Feb. 2024
Journal Sentinel, 22 Apr. 2024
But those narratives are rarely true, and most situations fall into a gray area.
—David Oliver, USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2024
And still others operate in a gray area created by the national trend toward decriminalization, which has reduced risks and increased rewards associated with black-market marijuana.
—Sebastian Rotella, ProPublica, 22 Mar. 2024
That leaves countries like Brazil in a kind of do-everything gray area, said Mercedes Bustamante, a professor and ecologist at the University of Brasília, and a member of the Climate Crisis Advisory Group, an independent group of scientists.
—Max Bearak, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024
For underage girls, there is less of a legal gray area — but enforcement and paths to recourse have been lackluster, leaving some child deepfake victims disillusioned.
—Kat Tenbarge, NBC News, 1 Mar. 2024
But without school policies explicitly allowing it, the students’ ability to bring naloxone to class falls into a gray area.
—Rae Ellen Bichell, CNN, 29 Feb. 2024
In Maui County, tiny homes fall into a legal gray area, housing advocates said.
—Reis Thebault, Washington Post, 22 Feb. 2024
As our Constitution and Supreme Court currently stand, both protections and restrictions sit in a gray area on the federal level.
—The San Diego Union-Tribune Staff, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'gray area.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Gray area.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gray%20area. Accessed 1 May. 2024.
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