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

Yet, in research vaguely reminiscent of RoboCop, scientists have used skeletal muscle from a literal frog leg as an actuator to control a tiny robotic manta ray. — New Atlas, 8 Sep. 2026

The big clubs exist vaguely in the same pool as Saudi Pro League sides, sometimes competing for similar players. — Nick Miller, New York Times, 6 Sep. 2026

Responsibility cannot be assigned vaguely to the model, the data team or the user. — Michael Tyrimos, Forbes.com, 4 Sep. 2026

Myers spoke vaguely about winning and losing, while interspersing clips of Ultimate Fighting Championship interviews with fighters after matches. — Taylor Seely, AZCentral.com, 3 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1663, in the meaning defined above