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

Musk has created a line of vaguely humanoid-looking robots called the Optimus, after the Transformers’ hero Optimus Prime. —Jeremy Lott, The Washington Examiner, 14 Nov. 2025

There’s something vaguely superior about most dystopian movies. —Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 12 Nov. 2025

While drag bans such as Senate Bill 12 obviously directly affect drag performers, these laws are often written vaguely enough to impact trans and gender-nonconforming citizens in general. —Abby Monteil, Them., 7 Nov. 2025

Anyone vaguely near the aesthetic gets christened it by fans, including Bassvictim, who were always funnier and more creative than the other modern electroclash revivalists. —Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 6 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1663, in the meaning defined above