vague

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vague

(vāg)

adj. vagu·er, vagu·est

1. Not clear in meaning or expression; inexplicit. See Synonyms at ambiguous.

2. Not thinking or expressing oneself clearly: "Most of us are quite vague about the theoretical underpinnings of the medical theories that guide our doctors" (Kwame Anthony Appiah).

3. Lacking definite shape, form, or character; indistinct: saw a vague outline of a building through the fog.

4. Indistinctly felt, perceived, understood, or recalled; hazy: a vague uneasiness.

[French, from Old French, wandering, from Latin vagus.]

vague′ly adv.

vague′ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

vague

(veɪɡ)

adj

1. (of statements, meaning, etc) not explicit; imprecise: vague promises.

2. not clearly perceptible or discernible; indistinct: a vague idea; a vague shape.

3. not clearly or definitely established or known: a vague rumour.

4. (of a person or his expression) demonstrating lack of precision or clear thinking; absent-minded

[C16: via French from Latin vagus wandering, of obscure origin]

ˈvaguely adv

ˈvagueness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

vague

(veɪg)

adj. va•guer, va•guest.

1. not clearly or explicitly stated or expressed: vague promises.

2. indefinite or indistinct in nature or character, as ideas or feelings: a vague premonition of disaster.

3. not clearly perceptible: vague murmurs.

4. not definitely established, determined, confirmed, or known: a vague rumor.

5. (of persons) not clear or definite in thought, understanding, or expression.

6. showing lack of clear perception or understanding: a vague stare.

[1540–50; (< Middle French) < Latin vagus wandering]

vague′ly, adv.

vague′ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Adj.	1.	vague - not clearly understood or expressed; "an obscure turn of phrase"; "an impulse to go off and fight certain obscure battles of his own spirit"-Anatole Broyard; "their descriptions of human behavior become vague, dull, and unclear"- P.A.Sorokin; "vague...forms of speech...have so long passed for mysteries of science"- John Locke obscure unclear - not clear to the mind; "the law itself was unclear on that point"; "the reason for their actions is unclear to this day"
	2.	vague - not precisely limited, determined, or distinguished; "an undefined term"; "undefined authority"; "some undefined sense of excitement"; "vague feelings of sadness"; "a vague uneasiness" undefined indefinite - vague or not clearly defined or stated; "must you be so indefinite?"; "amorphous blots of color having vague and indefinite edges"; "he would not answer so indefinite a proposal"
	3.	vague - lacking clarity or distinctness; "a dim figure in the distance"; "only a faint recollection"; "shadowy figures in the gloom"; "saw a vague outline of a building through the fog"; "a few wispy memories of childhood" dim, faint, shadowy, wispy indistinct - not clearly defined or easy to perceive or understand; "indistinct shapes in the gloom"; "an indistinct memory"; "only indistinct notions of what to do"

vague

adjective

1. unclear, indefinite, hazy, confused, loose, uncertain, doubtful, unsure, superficial, incomplete, woolly, imperfect, sketchy, cursory Her description of her attacker was very vague.
unclear clear, specific, exact, precise, distinct, explicit, definite, clear-cut

2. imprecise, unspecified, generalized, rough, loose, ambiguous, hazy, equivocal, ill-defined, non-specific, inexact, obfuscatory, inexplicit His answer was deliberately vague.

3. absent-minded, absorbed, abstracted, distracted, unaware, musing, vacant, preoccupied, bemused, oblivious, dreamy, daydreaming, faraway, unthinking, heedless, inattentive, unheeding She had married a charming but rather vague Englishman.

4. indistinct, blurred, unclear, dim, fuzzy, unknown, obscure, faint, shadowy, indefinite, misty, hazy, indistinguishable, amorphous, indeterminate, bleary, nebulous, out of focus, ill-defined, indiscernible He could just make out a vague shape in the distance.
indistinct clear, distinct, well-defined

5. indefinite, uncertain, undecided, unconfirmed, pending, speculative, unresolved, indeterminate, yet to be decided the team's vague plans to start up a regular magazine

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

vague

adjective

1. Liable to more than one interpretation:

ambiguous, cloudy, equivocal, inexplicit, nebulous, obscure, uncertain, unclear.

2. Not clearly perceived or perceptible:

blear, bleary, cloudy, dim, faint, foggy, fuzzy, hazy, indefinite, indistinct, misty, obscure, shadowy, unclear, undistinct.

3. Marked by lack of firm decision or commitment; of questionable outcome:

indefinite, open, uncertain, undecided, undetermined, unresolved, unsettled, unsure.

Idiom: up in the air.

Translations

غَيْر دَقيق، غَيْر عَمَليغَيْر واضِح، مُبْهَممُبْهَم

matnýnejistýneurčitývágní

vagsvævendeupræcis

epämääräinen

nejasan

óljós, óskÿrómarkviss, óákveîinn

vago

曖昧な

막연한

nekonkretus

izklaidīgsnenoteiktsneprecīzsneskaidrs

nejasen

vag

คลุมเครือ

belirsiz dalgınkafası dağınıkaçık seçik olmayan

không rõ ràng

含糊的模糊的

vague

[veɪg] ADJ (vaguer (compar) (vaguest (superl)))

1. (= imprecise) [concept] → impreciso, vago; [description] → impreciso; [outline] → borroso; [feeling] → indefinido, indeterminado; [person] (in giving details etc) → impreciso; (by nature) → de ideas poco precisas
the outlook is somewhat vague → el futuro es algo incierto
there have been vague hints of a reconciliation → ha habido ligeros atisbos de reconciliación
my memories of that time are very vague → mis recuerdos de aquella época son muy vagos, aquella época la recuerdo muy vagamente
the vague outline of a ship → el perfil borroso de un buque
he made some vague promises → hacía promesas, pero sin concretar
I haven't the vaguest idea → no tengo la más remota idea
he was vague about the date → no quiso precisar la fecha
you mustn't be so vague → hay que decir las cosas con claridad, hay que concretar
I'm a bit vague on that subject → sé poco en concreto sobre ese tema
then he went all vague → luego comenzó a decir vaguedades

2. (= absent-minded) [person] → despistado, distraído; [expression, look] → ausente
he's terribly vague → tiene un tremendo despiste, es un despistado
to look vague → tener aire distraído

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

vague

[ˈveɪg] adj

(= not precise) [description, information, instructions, promises] → vague often before n
She gave very vague instructions → Elle a donné de très vagues instructions.

(= faint) [memory] → vague before n; [impression, idea] → vague before n
I haven't the vaguest idea → je n'en ai pas la moindre idée

(= evasive) [person] → vague
He was very vague about how this would actually work → Il est resté très vague sur la manière dont cela pourrait marcher en réalité., Il est resté dans le vague sur la manière dont cela pourrait effectivement marcher.

(= absent-minded) [person] → dans le vague, perdu(e) dans ses pensées; [look] → vague

(= slight) [feeling] → vague before n
a vague feeling of sth → un vague sentiment de qch

[shape, outline] → vague

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

vague

adj (+er)

(= not clear) person, plan → vage, unbestimmt; outline, shape → verschwommen; photograph → unscharf, verschwommen; report, question → vage, ungenau; murmur → dumpf, undeutlich; I haven’t the vaguest idea → ich habe nicht die leiseste Ahnung; there’s a vague resemblance → es besteht eine entfernte Ähnlichkeit; I had a vague idea she would come → ich hatte so eine (dunkle) Ahnung, dass sie kommen würde; I am still very vague on this theory → die Theorie ist mir noch nicht sehr klar; I am very vague on Dutch politics → von holländischer Politik habe ich nicht viel Ahnung; he was vague about the time of his arrival → er äußerte sich nur vage or unbestimmt über seine Ankunftszeit; a vague sense of unease → ein leichtes Unbehagen

(= absent-minded) → geistesabwesend, zerstreut; do you really understand, you look rather vague? → verstehst du das wirklich, du siehst so verwirrt aus?; to have a vague look in one’s eyes → einen abwesenden or (not having understood) → verständnislosen Gesichtsausdruck haben

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

vague

[veɪg] adj (-r (comp) (-st (superl))) (gen) → vago/a; (directions, description) → impreciso/a, confuso/a; (indistinct, memory) → sfocato/a; (person, absent-minded) → distratto/a
I have a vague idea that ... → ho la vaga impressione che...
I haven't the vaguest idea → non ho la minima or più pallida idea
the vague outline of a ship → la sagoma indistinta or confusa di una nave
a vague look → uno sguardo assente or vuoto

vague

(veig) adjective

1. not clear, distinct or definite. Through the fog we saw the vague outline of a ship; She has only a vague idea of how this machine works.

2. (of people) imprecise, or impractical and forgetful. He is always very vague when making arrangements.

ˈvagueness noun

ˈvaguely adverb

1. in a vague manner. I remember him very vaguely.

2. slightly. She felt vaguely irritated; I feel vaguely uneasy.

vague

→ مُبْهَم neurčitý vag vage ασαφής impreciso epämääräinen vague nejasan vago 曖昧な 막연한 vaag vag niesprecyzowany vago неясный vag คลุมเครือ belirsiz không rõ ràng 含糊的

vague

a. vago-a, indefinido-a;

adv. vagamente.

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

The first of our vague but indubitable data is that there is knowledge of the past.

View in context

He had a vague impression of a great primeval forest and of naked people walking beneath the trees.

View in context

I go out into the Byfleet Road, and vehicles pass me, a butcher boy in a cart, a cabful of visitors, a workman on a bicycle, children going to school, and suddenly they become vague and unreal, and I hurry again with the artilleryman through the hot, brooding silence.

View in context

In vague ways it was borne in upon him that they, too, were not happy.

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Jimmie grew large enough to take the vague position of head of the family.

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To keep ships afloat is his business; it is his trust; it is the effective formula of the bottom of all these vague impulses, dreams, and illusions that go to the making up of a boy's vocation.

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these walls - these ivy-clad arcades - These mouldering plinths - these sad and blackened shafts - These vague entablatures - this crumbling frieze - These shattered cornices - this wreck - this ruin - These stones - alas!

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Their ardor alternated between a vague ideal and the common yearning of womanhood; so that the one was disapproved as extravagance, and the other condemned as a lapse.

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He went in quest of sympathy - in quest of that droll article that we all suppose ourselves to want when in a strait, and have agreed to call advice; and he went, besides, with vague but rather splendid expectations of relief.

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There was really, even now, no tangible evidence to the contrary; but since the previous night a vague dread had hung on his sky-line.

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He was in that mood which solitude makes more keenly felt, and during which vague terrors mount to the brain.

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He was regarded by boys and masters with a vague dislike, and it was from arrogance that Philip now sought his society.

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