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

The faces of the four terracotta characters Samy had sculpted were vaguely familiar. —Literary Hub, 5 Dec. 2025

The phrase — clean some things up — is usually used rather vaguely. —Sam McDowell December 3, Kansas City Star, 3 Dec. 2025

Her total lack of introspection, at least on the page, is vaguely uncanny. —Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 3 Dec. 2025

Ryan Davis, a singer and songwriter from Louisville, Kentucky, makes tuneful, funny music that’s vaguely rooted in country and indie-rock, but also leaves room for hard left turns, including unforeseeable breakbeats. —Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 1 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1663, in the meaning defined above