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

One recruit who had recently graduated basic training only vaguely recalled Hegseth's name. — Steven Beynon, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026

Naturally, the change is pushing resorts away from the old formula of international all-day dining (something vaguely Asian, an Italian, and perhaps a grill), as familiarity alone is no longer much of a selling point. — Lela London, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026

The language of a sociopath is very easy to have a mustached, twirly guy speaking and pontificating and vaguely threatening tropes, but to really give him a kind of humanity, vulnerability. — Beatrice Verhoeven, HollywoodReporter, 15 Aug. 2026

The bars are flooded with single people dressed in their sexiest getups and looking vaguely uncomfortable. — Faith Hill, The Atlantic, 14 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1663, in the meaning defined above