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

Inside, a low rumble of synthesizer, playing a vaguely liturgical suspended chord, filled the arena. —Charles Homans Robert Petkoff Anna Diamond Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2024

In North America, where Humane is vaguely set, the government has created a voluntary euthanasic program. —Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Apr. 2024

Uncle Vanya is once again wallowing in despair on a Broadway stage, this time at Lincoln Center and led by comedy veteran Steve Carell — an actor uniquely suited to the role of a vaguely likable but mostly pathetic man who just barely fits the bill as our story’s hero. —Shania Russell, EW.com, 25 Apr. 2024

The series’ setting is vaguely Europe-inspired and takes its design cues from World War II and its story beats from the Cold War. —Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 19 Apr. 2024

Its eVTOL, called Alia, is vaguely based on the skeleton of an Arctic tern, with a fishbowl cockpit. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024

The app is vaguely reminiscent of Clubhouse, the audio chat room service that saw a boom during the pandemic and has since withered away. —Bloomberg, The Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2024

While Cole has been vocal in his response to Lamar, Drake only vaguely referenced the verse during a show shortly after. —Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 12 Apr. 2024

Now her look alternates between vaguely professorial and something more glamorous. —Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1663, in the meaning defined above