ill-defined
adjective
: not easy to see or understand
The property's borders are ill-defined.
an ill-defined mission
Examples of ill-defined in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The choices facing Matty and Olympia at the end of the finale seemed ill-defined, as did the stakes.
—
Noel Murray, Vulture, 18 Apr. 2025
Instead, voters are being asked to approve Measure A, which would empower the county Board of Supervisors, by a four-fifths vote, to remove Corpus from office for any of five different broad and ill-defined reasons.
—Mercury News Editorial, The Mercury News, 26 Jan. 2025
Likewise, Gascón felt that Emilia’s sexuality was ill-defined.
—Julian Sancton, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Jan. 2025
As for setting a more realistic timeline, Levine Cava wrote that the plan was still too ill-defined to say.
—Alyssa Johnson, Miami Herald, 7 Jan. 2025
That's particularly true now that the Supreme Court has scrapped a decades-old legal doctrine that gave the FDA, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and other health agencies the discretion to interpret vague or ill-defined laws.
—Tina Reed, Axios, 16 Dec. 2024
Because this doctrine is so ill-defined, a lawyer can only guess at whether this Court will apply it to the Trump administration at all, or specifically to Trump’s tariff policies.
—Ian Millhiser, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
The latter phrase is ill-defined in the law, but certainly does not encompass political disagreement or electoral expediency.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 30 Jan. 2024
Then there’s the regulatory approval process, which is ill-defined for next-generation antivenoms.
—Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 29 Apr. 2024
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Noel Murray, Vulture, 18 Apr. 2025
Instead, voters are being asked to approve Measure A, which would empower the county Board of Supervisors, by a four-fifths vote, to remove Corpus from office for any of five different broad and ill-defined reasons.
—Mercury News Editorial, The Mercury News, 26 Jan. 2025
Likewise, Gascón felt that Emilia’s sexuality was ill-defined.
—Julian Sancton, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Jan. 2025
As for setting a more realistic timeline, Levine Cava wrote that the plan was still too ill-defined to say.
—Alyssa Johnson, Miami Herald, 7 Jan. 2025
That's particularly true now that the Supreme Court has scrapped a decades-old legal doctrine that gave the FDA, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and other health agencies the discretion to interpret vague or ill-defined laws.
—Tina Reed, Axios, 16 Dec. 2024
Because this doctrine is so ill-defined, a lawyer can only guess at whether this Court will apply it to the Trump administration at all, or specifically to Trump’s tariff policies.
—Ian Millhiser, Vox, 7 Dec. 2018
The latter phrase is ill-defined in the law, but certainly does not encompass political disagreement or electoral expediency.
—New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 30 Jan. 2024
Then there’s the regulatory approval process, which is ill-defined for next-generation antivenoms.
—Cody Cottier, Discover Magazine, 29 Apr. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Ill-defined.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ill-defined. Accessed 13 Jun. 2025.
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