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

Concerning the symbolic, there is often a whiff of mystery and obfuscation, of being vaguely jangly, a bit mystical and slightly magical. —Literary Hub, 23 Dec. 2025

Police vaguely described the suspect as an African American man with a slender build, who was last seen wearing a black winter hat and a tan or brown jacket. —Jeramie Bizzle, CBS News, 20 Dec. 2025

The extent of the refurbishment became clear only in my room, which just vaguely resembled the idiosyncratic abodes of the past. —Chris Schalkx, Travel + Leisure, 16 Dec. 2025

Even the concept of red and yellow ‘cards’ was vaguely controversial at one point — some magazines insisted on referring to them as ‘discs’. —Michael Cox, New York Times, 14 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1663, in the meaning defined above