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

Not without its very minor, even vaguely Altman-esque hangout-movie pleasures, Fast Company sputters around in second gear for most of its blessedly brief 91 minutes. —A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2025

Questions were asked vaguely regarding what was to come, and the actor helped shade in various details without giving spoilers. —Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 27 Apr. 2025

This should be a recipe for success, if a minor one, but Until Dawn doesn’t really capitalize on these elements and, as a result, is erratically frightening and vaguely dissatisfying. —Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 24 Apr. 2025

At this point, what started as a throwaway joke has grown into something vaguely earnest — too big to fail and too enmeshed in the neighborhood to be abandoned in good conscience. —Nate Rogers, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1663, in the meaning defined above