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 vintage candy is vaguely reminiscent of hot cocoa mix. — Abigail Wilt, Southern Living, 25 June 2026

The game is set in an apartment building that looks vaguely like New York, but really could be any city. — Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 23 June 2026

Trump, in other words, may be only vaguely aware of the people and groups helping to rewrite all manner of consequential policies. — Alex Cuadros, ProPublica, 23 June 2026

For those who haven’t heard the story (or who only vaguely recall it from a long-ago history class), Harpers Ferry played a pivotal role in sparking the American Civil War. — Cu Fleshman, Travel + Leisure, 21 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1663, in the meaning defined above