Word of the Day

: June 23, 2012

nebulous

adjective NEB-yuh-lus

What It Means

1 : of, relating to, or resembling a nebula

2 : indistinct, vague

nebulous in Context

Charlene's description of the film was so nebulous that I’m still not quite sure what it is about.

"We just wish his business model wasn't so reliant on propping up a supposedly free market with huge infusions of tax dollars in return for comparatively meager, completely nebulous new jobs estimates." - From an editorial by Matthew Major in Public Opinion (Chambersburg, Pennsylvania), June 8, 2012

Did You Know?

"Nebulous" comes from the Latin word "nebulosus," meaning "misty," which in turn comes from "nebula," meaning "mist," "fog," or "cloud." In the 18th century, English speakers borrowed "nebula" and gave it a somewhat more specific meaning than the Latin version. In English, "nebula" refers to a cloud of gas or dust in deep space, or in less technical contexts, simply to a galaxy. "Nebulous" itself, when it doesn't have interstellar implications, usually means "cloudy" or "foggy" in a figurative sense. One's memory of a long-past event, for example, will often be nebulous; a teenager might give a nebulous recounting of an evening's events upon coming home; or a politician might make a campaign promise but give only a nebulous description of how he or she would fulfill it.