vaguely

adverb

Definition of vaguelynext
as in slightly

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of vaguely Meanwhile, a flashback, set vaguely in the Before Times, presents a girl playing with the ragdoll Jessie, a cowgirl and aspirant sheriff, voiced enthusiastically and most capably by Joan Cusack. — Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 27 June 2026 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 See All Example Sentences for vaguely
Recent Examples of Synonyms for vaguely
  1. slightly
  2. nominally
  3. little
  4. negligibly
  5. tolerably
  6. decently
  7. acceptably
Adverb
  • On one hand, England fans are swigging beer in the sun with a familiar slightly nervous look on their face as the pressure is now on their team to deliver.
    — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 12 July 2026
  • Generally, rents have seen modest increases in coastal areas, while slightly declining in inland communities, though there are exceptions.
    — Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 July 2026
Definition of slightly
Adverb
  • In practice, many MSOs grew too fast through acquisition to ever build that platform, ending up with different equipment, different extraction methods, and different SOPs for nominally identical products across their networks.
    — Peter Su, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
  • But the only album Sly Stone released in the last 40 years of his life, nominally a solo album, is otherwise disappointingly devoted to revamping his group’s old hits.
    — Al Shipley, SPIN, 7 July 2026
Definition of nominally
Adverb
  • In That Time When, Popular Science tells the weirdest, surprising, and little-known stories that shaped science, engineering, and innovation.
    — Leah Hudson, Popular Science, 9 July 2026
  • Shares were little changed in the premarket despite the bearish call by Wells Fargo.
    — Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 8 July 2026
Definition of little
Adverb
  • In an economy where wages are anchored to what compute would cost to replicate human work, human labor becomes economically marginal—not worthless, but negligibly small relative to the overall pie.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 4 Apr. 2026
  • In other words, the chin contributes negligibly to resisting chewing forces.
    — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
Definition of negligibly
Adverb
  • The Sky fell, but tolerably so.
    — Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 10 June 2026
  • This works tolerably well when a family is small and operating within a common frame of reference.
    — Sharon Olson, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
Definition of tolerably
Adverb
  • The pair of shotgun-style bedrooms right off the entry are decently sized and come with closets, in addition to being separated by the bathroom.
    — Matthew Sedacca, Curbed, 6 July 2026
  • Even with a decently quick fire, shooting the flaming arrow with the makeshift bow with any aim was tough for former NFL player Wes.
    — Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 17 June 2026
Definition of decently
Adverb
  • Somehow, the shameless concept of tanking has become an acceptably mainstream idea like destination weddings and the Paleo diet.
    — Dave Hyde, Sun Sentinel, 10 Feb. 2026
  • One-on-one gatherings are my preference, but no more than a group of maybe four people at a time would be acceptably comfortable for me.
    — R. Eric Thomas, Denver Post, 28 Nov. 2025
Definition of acceptably

Browse Nearby Words

vague
vaguely
vagueness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Vaguely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/vaguely. Accessed 16 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on vaguely

Nglish: Translation of vaguely for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of bibelot

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 17
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
child-detective
Spot the Misspelled Word July 2026 Those little red underlines can't help you now...
See All