vague
adjective
- murky in meaning
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /veɪɡ/ / /væɡ/
adj
Etymology: From Middle French vague, from Latin vagus (“uncertain, vague”, literally “wandering, rambling, strolling”).
- Not clearly expressed; stated in indefinite terms.
“It follows from what has been said that a vague thought has more likelihood of being true than a precise one. To try and hit an object with a vague thought is like trying to hit the bull's eye with a lump of putty: when the putty reaches the target, it flattens out all over it, and probably covers the bull's eye along with the rest. To try and hit an object with a precise thought is like trying to hit the bull's eye with a bullet. The advantage of the precise thought is that it distinguishes between the bull's eye and the rest of the target.”
“Throughout the first week of his presidency, Dulles and Bissell continued to brief Kennedy on their strategy for Cuba, but the men were vague and their meetings offered little in the way of hard facts.”
- Not having a precise meaning.
“a vague term of abuse”
- Not clearly defined, grasped, or understood; indistinct; slight.
“only a vague notion of what’s needed”
“a vague hint of a thickening waistline”
- Not clearly felt or sensed; somewhat subconscious.
“a vague longing”
“For though my nature rarely yields To that vague fear implied in death; Nor shudders at the gulfs beneath, The howlings from forgotten fields; […]”
- Not thinking or expressing one’s thoughts clearly or precisely.
“Waxed-fleshed out-patients / Still vague from accidents, / And characters in long coats / Deep in the litter-baskets […]”
- Lacking expression; vacant.
- Not sharply outlined; hazy.
“He walked. To the corner of Hamilton Place and Picadilly, and there stayed for a while, for it is a romantic station by night. The vague and careless rain looked like threads of gossamer silver passing across the light of the arc-lamps.”
- Wandering; vagrant; vagabond.
“The Lord Gray incourag'd his men to set sharply upon the vague villains”
“She danced along with vague, regardless eyes, / Anxious her lips, her breathing quick and short: [...]”
noun
Etymology: From Middle French vague, from Latin vagus (“uncertain, vague”, literally “wandering, rambling, strolling”).
- An indefinite expanse.
“The gray vague of unsympathizing sea / That dragged his fancy from her moorings back / To shores inhospitable of eldest time.”
- A wandering; a vagary.
“[T]he Scots had some leasure to plaie their vagues”
verb
Etymology: From Middle French vague, from Latin vagus (“uncertain, vague”, literally “wandering, rambling, strolling”).
- to wander; to roam; to stray.
“[The soul] doth vague and wander.”
- To become vague or act in a vague manner.
“Vaguely, yes. I've vagued all my life; that's been my curse.”
“A man's mind vagued up a little, for how can you remember the feel of pleasure or pain or choking emotion?”
- To make vague negative comments publicly; to make highly veiled complaints or insults.