vaguely

adverb

vague·​ly ˈvāg-lē 

: in a vague way: such as

a

: somewhat or slightly

He's vaguely familiar with the area.

… men on foot, dressed vaguely like janitors …

—A. L. Kennedy

b

: not clearly

There were grants, he explained vaguely, that had to be spent before the money went back to the federal government, so my main job was to buy lavish art books, as quickly as possible.

—Michael Blaine

Where once the city was a battleground for two main militias … now at least five militias claim vaguely defined pockets as their own.

—Jeffrey Bartholet

I've always believed closers are like girlfriends: You remember the great ones, you remember the awful ones and you vaguely remember everyone in between. (You could say the same about hockey goalies and field goal kickers.)

—Bill Simmons

Examples of vaguely in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Everyone huddled in the ship’s dry lab watches rapt as the crawler bumps up against a vaguely rectangular object the size of a bar fridge. —Paul Hockenos, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Sep. 2024

There was warmth among the orphaned, and a collective hope that felt vaguely messianic. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024

Wander around the outskirts of the party in an oversized hoodie and jeans looking vaguely distraught. —Evelyn Bauer, Them, 4 Sep. 2024

Through it all, a low, vaguely Satanic score churns in the background, while a woman’s voice drones on about a creature, a demon and a rabbit. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 31 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1663, in the meaning defined above