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vague
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- pronunciation:
- veIg
- features:
- Word Parts
| part of speech: |
adjective |
| inflections: |
vaguer, vaguest |
| definition 1: |
When something is vague, it's not clear. If an image is vague, you can't see well what it is. If there is a vague sound, you can hear it a little, but not well. You can't be sure what it is, or you can only hear bits of it.
There was a vague smell of bleach in the bathroom.The captain could see a vague outline of another ship in the distance.- synonyms:
- fuzzy
- antonyms:
- clear, definite
- similar words:
- dim, general, uncertain
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| definition 2: |
When something that is spoken or written is vague, it is not clear. It is hard to understand. It doesn't give enough information, or it is not expressed in a way that makes the meaning clear. It might need an example because it is too general or abstract.
Because the instructions were vague, the students couldn't understand what they were supposed to do.The teacher said my first paragraph was vague, and I needed to make it clearer.- synonyms:
- foggy
- antonyms:
- clear, precise
- similar words:
- dim, faint, general, weak
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| definition 3: |
If someone is being vague, they are not saying clearly what they mean, or they really don't have enough information or understanding to be clear about what they are saying. Sometimes when people are vague, they don't want to be clear. They don't want to tell the whole truth or to really answer someone's question.
Mr. Evans was vague about his schedule for next week because he really didn't know exactly what he was going to be doing.The governor was vague in his answers to the reporters' questions.- synonyms:
- uncertain
- antonyms:
- specific, vivid
- similar words:
- fuzzy
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| derivations: |
vaguely (adv.), vagueness (n.) |
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