vague

play

adjective \ˈvāg\

Definition of vague

vaguer

;

vaguest

1a : not clearly expressed : stated in indefinite terms vague accusationsb : not having a precise meaning a vague term of abuse
2a : not clearly defined, grasped, or understood : indistinct only a vague notion of what's needed; also : slight a vague hint of a thickening waistline hasn't the vaguest ideab : not clearly felt or sensed : somewhat subconscious a vague longing
3 : not thinking or expressing one's thoughts clearly or precisely vague about dates and places
4 : lacking expression : vacant vague eyes a vague stare
5 : not sharply outlined : hazy met by vague figures with shaded torchlights — Earle Birney

vaguely

adverb

vagueness

noun

See vague defined for English-language learners

See vague defined for kids

Examples of vague in a Sentence

When my three years of military service ended, I looked around for some way to get to spend time in rural Vietnam as a civilian. The driving force was still primarily intellectual curiosity, along with a desire to improve my language ability in a non-Western language and some vague idea of doing folkloristic or literary studies in the future. —Neil L. Jamieson, Understanding Vietnam, (1993) 1995
There are vague memories in our souls of those misty centuries when the world was in its childhood. —Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, 1887
At the end of half an hour Tom had a vague general idea of his lesson, but no more, for his mind was traversing the whole field of human thought, and his hands were busy with distracting recreations. —Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer, 1876
It thrilled him with a vague uncertain horror, to know that behind the dusky shroud, there were ghostly eyes intently fixed upon him, while he, though he stretched his own to the utmost, could see nothing but a spectral hand and one great heap of black. —Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, 1843
The instructions she left were vague and difficult to follow.
He gave only a vague answer.
The judges determined that the law was too vague to be fairly enforced.
She has been vague about her plans for college.
We had only a vague idea of where we were.
I think I have a vague understanding of how it works.
He longed in some vague way for something different.
She felt a vague sense of uneasiness when she was around him.
I had the vague impression that they were withholding information.
We could just barely make out the vague outline of a plane in the sky.

Recent Examples of vague from the Web

But even the government’s lawyers,considered this language far too vague.

— j. weston phippen, The Atlantic, "Theresa May's Terrorism Strategy", 4 June 2017
Clinton reiterated previous statements about the importance of being politically involved as a citizen, but, as always, kept it vague.

— jessica estepa, USA TODAY, "Chelsea Clinton: Hillary's loss was 'unexpected blessing'", 31 May 2017
Truth is, my intentions were to keep the look vague enough to be relatable to many women of different cultures, but the true inspiration of the overall look came from my Cuban heritage.

— hannah orenstein, Seventeen, "This Makeup Artist Made a White Woman Look Like a Woman of Color and People Are Pissed", 30 May 2017
Common terms and ideas can be somewhat vague in their meaning and interpretation.

— by jim ulseth, miamiherald, "Investing for the greater good: Who’s ‘responsible’? And how do you start?", 28 May 2017
Notes filed by the surgeons are often vague when describing how each part of the surgery was performed.

— justin mayo, The Seattle Times, "A one-week snapshot of Swedish surgeries", 26 May 2017
Only a vague outline of this bizarre landscape was visible on the old map, which had a resolution of 27,000 square feet per pixel, actually quite good for the seafloor.

— betsy mason, National Geographic, "New Seafloor Map Reveals How Strange the Gulf of Mexico Is", 26 May 2017
A vague, subtle, mysterious change was hoped for which would have magical effects upon all within in range.

— kathleen hale, Harper's BAZAAR, "Is Teenage Plastic Surgery a Feminist Act?", 25 May 2017
In a brief cover story from Entertainment Weekly, however, showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss give a very vague but very important hint about the upcoming season.

— matt miller, Esquire, "We've Been Waiting Six Years for Game of Thrones To Do This One Simple Thing", 25 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'vague'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of vague

borrowed from French, going back to Middle French, going back to Old French, “wandering, vagabond,” borrowed from Latin vagus “moving freely, wandering,” perhaps akin to Old High German wankōn “to totter, stagger,” winkan “to waver, stagger, wink,” Old English wincian “to close the eyes” — more at ¹wink

First Known Use: 1548

Synonym Discussion of vague

obscure, dark, vague, enigmatic, cryptic, ambiguous, equivocal mean not clearly understandable. obscure implies a hiding or veiling of meaning through some inadequacy of expression or withholding of full knowledge. obscure poems dark implies an imperfect or clouded revelation often with ominous or sinister suggestion. muttered dark hints of revenge vague implies a lack of clear formulation due to inadequate conception or consideration. a vague sense of obligation enigmatic stresses a puzzling, mystifying quality. enigmatic occult writings cryptic implies a purposely concealed meaning. cryptic hints of hidden treasure ambiguous applies to language capable of more than one interpretation. an ambiguous directive equivocal applies to language left open to differing interpretations with the intention of deceiving or evading. moral precepts with equivocal phrasing

VAGUE Defined for English Language Learners

vague

play

adjective

Definition of vague for English Language Learners

: not clear in meaning : stated in a way that is general and not specific
: not thinking or expressing your thoughts clearly or precisely
: not completely formed or developed

VAGUE Defined for Kids

vague

play

adjective \ˈvāg\

Definition of vague for Students

vaguer

;

vaguest

1 : not clearly expressed a vague answer
2 : not clearly understood or sensed They knew in a vague way what they wanted.
3 : not clearly outlined At first Rosalind could see only vague shapes … — Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks

vaguely

adverb

vagueness

noun

Law Dictionary

vague

play

adjective \ˈvāg\

Legal Definition of vague

: characterized by such a lack of precision that a person of ordinary intelligence would have to guess if particular conduct is being proscribed : characterized by a failure to describe forbidden conduct in terms sufficient to provide fair warning an unconstitutionally vague law — see also void-for-vagueness doctrine — compare overbroad