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Vague

Definitions: Vague

Vague

Adjective

1. Not clearly understood or expressed; "an indeterminate 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.

2. Not precisely limited, determined, or distinguished; "an undefined term"; "undefined authority"; "some undefined sense of excitement"; "vague feelings of sadness"; "a vague uneasiness".

3. 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".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "vague" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1380. (references)

Synonyms: Vague

Synonyms: dim (adj), faint (adj), indeterminate (adj), obscure (adj), shadowy (adj), undefined (adj), wispy (adj). (additional references)
Antonym: defined (adj). (additional references)

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Synonyms within Context: Vague

ContextSynonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).

Reasoning,

Weak, feeble, poor, flimsy, loose, vague.

Supposition

Inkling, suggestion, hint, intimation, notion, impression; bare supposition, vague supposition, loose supposition, loose suggestion.

Uncertainty

Vague; indeterminate, indefinite; ambiguous, equivocal; undefined, undefinable; confused; (indistinct); mystic, oracular; dazed.

Unintelligibility

Indefinite, garbled; (indistinct); perplexed; (confused); undetermined, vague, loose, ambiguous; mysterious; mystic, mystical; acroamatic, acroamatical; metempirical; transcendental; occult, recondite, abstruse, crabbed.

Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

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Crosswords: Vague

English words defined with "vague": addled, adumbration, anxietybefuddled, belief, blurdimequivocation, evasive, evasivenessfaint, feeling, foreshadowing, fuzzyglimpseImperspicuous, impression, inchoate, incipient, indefinite, Indefinite term, indefiniteness, indefinity, indeterminably, indeterminacy, indeterminate, indeterminateness, indeterminationLeasymistily, muddled, muzzynotion, Nouvelle Vagueobscurantist, obscure, opinionprefiguration, prevaricationSfumato, Shadowish, shadowy, shillyshally, simulacrum, slurtergiversation, Transcendental functionundefinedVague year, vaguely, vaguenesswaffler, wispy, woolly, woolly-headed, wooly, wooly-minded. (references)
Specialty definitions using "vague": application service providerdeep levelexternal memoryJaundice, Chronic IdiopathicLegislative Historyprocedural bias, Projective TechniquesSchizotypal Personality Disorder, social science number, space sicknesstunica mucosavague prior. (references)
Etymologies containing "vague": Shadowishvagary, Vagous. (references)
Non-English Usage: "Vague" is also a word in the following language with English translations in parentheses.

French (dim, dimness, formless, haziness, hazy, incomprehensible, indefinite, indeterminate, indistinct, indistinguishable, inkling, inscrutable, lax, obscure, outbreak, remote, shadowy, shady, sketchy, sloppy, surge, tide, uncertain, undefined, upsurge, vacant, vague, vagueness, wave).

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Modern Usage: Vague

DomainUsage

Screenplays

Believe me, I can be vague. (Analyze This; writing credit: Kenneth Lonergan; Peter Tolan)

Oh son, you're too vague. (Ed Wood; writing credit: Scott Alexander)

A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend. (Buffy the Vampire Slayer; writing credit: Doreen Spicer)

That's just vague enough to work! (The Fairly OddParents; writing credit: Philippe Setbon)

But I need a recommendation, Spock, not vague warnings. (Star Trek: Where No Man Has Gone Before; writing credit: Samuel A. Peeples)

Lyrics

It's driven me before, and it seems to have a vague, ("Drive"; performing artist: Incubus)

Clever

If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague. (references; author: unknown)

Movie/TV Titles

Cinéma de notre temps: La première vague (1968)

Terrain vague (1960)

Après la Nouvelle Vague... Cinéma de notre temps: André Téchiné (1995)

Nouvelle vague (1990)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Commercial Usage: Vague

DomainTitle

Books

  • A Vague History of the Kings and Queens of England (reference)

  • Fuzzy Cooperative Games: Cooperation With Vague Expectations (Studies in Fuzziness and Soft Computing) (reference)

  • L'ile Maurice, au sommet de la vague economique francophone (reference)

  • The Great British Mistake: Vague 1977-92 (reference)

  • Vague Language (Describing English Language) (reference)

    (more book examples)

  

Music

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Familiar Quotations: Vague

AuthorQuotation

Charles Sanders Peirce

All the evolution we know of proceeds from the vague to the definite.

Edgar Allan Poe

The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?

Helen Keller

I seldom think about my limitations, and they never make me sad. Perhaps there is just a touch of yearning at times; but it is vague, like a breeze among flowers.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Historic Usage: Vague

AuthorDateQuotation

Roe v. Wade

1973

Ruling that declaratory, though not injunctive, relief was warranted, the court declared the abortion statutes void as vague and overbroadly infringing those plaintiffs' Ninth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. (reference)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Use in Literature: Vague

TitleAuthorQuote

Sylvie and Bruno Concluded

Carroll, Lewis

Your question is painfully vague.

Les Miserables

Hugo, Victor

There was a kind of vague ebb and flow in his brain.

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

Joyce, James

In a vague way he understood that his father was in trouble and that this was the reason why he himself had not been sent back to Clongowes.

Grapes of Wrath

Steinbeck, John

He was about fifty, his whiskery face gaunt, and his open eyes were vague and staring.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Non-Fiction Usage: Vague

SubjectTopicQuote

Health

Actually, the symptoms are usually mild and vague. (references)

Initial complaints in PSP are typically vague and an early diagnosis is always difficult. (references)

Other signs and symptoms at this stage include vague abdominal pain, intestinal cramps, colic, and nausea. (references)

Business

The mechanism is, however, still vague. (references)

It appears that companies wanting to export foodstuffs into the European market will have to define the origin of the product or that of many of its ingredients, in order to allow consumers to decide for themselves if they want to consume GMOs or food produced using GMOs. Estimates about the future for cultivating genetically modified plants in Germany can only be vague. (references)

Children

Chile

UNICEF estimated in 1999 that there were roughly 10,000 child prostitutes between the ages of 6 and 18. The age of consent is 12 years; the law is vague regarding child prostitution above this age unless force, fraud, or abuse of authority can be proven. (references)

Peru

However, during the year Congress increased the annual budget allocated to integrate persons with disabilities into the economy from $250,000 to $457,000. Although the law prohibits discrimination in the workplace, it is vague regarding the source of funds to pay for the human assistance, technological support, and environmental adaptations that often are necessary to enable workers with disabilities to be productive. (references)

Civil Liberties

Singapore

The Government has absolute discretion in applying this broad, vague language to register or dissolve societies. (references)

Economic History

Botswana

Botswana's Finance Minister, to whom PEEPA reports, continues to make vague and contradictory statements on the issue. (references)

Indonesia

Laws and regulations are often vague and require substantial interpretation by implementing offices, leading to business uncertainty. (references)

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan has made progress in creating a favorable investment climate although concerns, such as vague and contradictory laws, remain. (references)

Human Rights

Syria

Charges against defendants in the SSSC often are vague. (references)

Pakistan

Many observers criticized the Supreme Court decision as vague and contradictory. (references)

Korea

Laws regarding arrest and detention often are vague, and prosecutors have wide latitude to interpret them. (references)

Minorities

Pakistan

Armed with this vague wording, mullahs have brought charges against Ahmadis for using standard Muslim salutations and for naming their children Mohammed. (references)

Political Economy

URUGUAY

The law provides a lax definition of compulsory licensing and a vague determination of the "adequate remuneration" to be paid to the patent holder. (references)

Syria

Although new amendments to the Press Law permitted government-approved private individuals and organizations to publish their own newspapers, the same amendments also stipulated imprisonment and stiff financial penalties as part of broad, vague provisions prohibiting the publication of "inaccurate" information. (references)

Trade

Poland

However, the law is not clear on this issue and guidance from the PCBC and other testing centers is vague. (references)

Women

Thailand

NGO's claim that the term is vague and that such ambiguity makes the prosecution of harassment claims difficult. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

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Usage Frequency: Vague

"Vague" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Vague" is used about 1,503 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)
Parts of SpeechPercentUsage per
100 Million Words
Rank in English
Adjective (general or positive)100%1,5035,417

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Expressions: Vague

Expressions using "vague": a vague idea of be vague about smth. become vague i have a vague notion of it nouvelle Vague vague instructions vague prior vague rumor vague rumour vague supposition vague year. Additional references.

Hyphenated Usage

Beginning with "vague": vague-sided.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Vague

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day

vague

42

nouvelle vague

12

de froid vague

11

bright eyes lyrics something vague

3

de film froid vague

3

terrain vague

2

piscine vague

2

boule vague

2
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translations: Vague

Language Translations for "vague"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.

Albanian

  

i turbullt (blank, cloudy, dim, dimmish, dreamy, dull, dusky, feculent, foggy, indistinct, lax, misty, muddy, obscure, shadowy, thick, turbid, turbulent, woozy), i pasaktë (erroneous, fallible, false, improper, inaccurate, incorrect, inexact, inexplicit, lax, untrue), i paqartë (abstract, dark, dim, doubtful, dubious, dusky, evasive, inarticulate, indefinite, indeterminate, indistinct, muddy, nebulous, obscure, out of focus, recondite, shadowy, uncertain, unclear, undistinguishable, undistinguished, unknowable, unreadable), i pacaktuar (indefinite, indeterminate, inexplicit, unsure), i mjegullt (foggy, hazy, misty, nebulous), i largët (distant, far, far off, faraway, long run, odd, off, out of the way, outer, remote, removed, slight, way out), i hutuar (abashed, absent, absentminded, bewildered, confused, disconcerted, distracted, dizzy, foggy, inadvertent, muddle-headed, perplexed, puzzle-headed, puzzle-pated). (various references)

   

Arabic 

  

‏ملتبس (ambiguous, doubtful, dubious, equivocal, obscure, uncertain), ‏مبهم (abstruse, ambiguous, cryptic, dark, dim, enigmatic, equivocal, hazy, impenetrable, incomprehensible, inscrutable, misty, mysterious, mystic, obscure, recondite, unclear, unfathomable, unintelligible), ‏غير واضح (cloudy, dull, foggy, fuzziness, fuzzy, inconspicuous, indefinite, indistinct, nebulous, unclear), ‏غامض (abstruse, ambiguous, cloudy, deep, dim, double faced, dreamy, enigmatic, evasive, fuzzy, grave, hazy, impenetrable, incomprehensible, indecisive, indefinite, indeterminate, indistinct, indistinguishable, inscrutable, intangible, lax, magic, magical, misty, mysterious, mystic, nebulous, obscure, occult, opaque, puzzling, recondite, secret, shady, sketchy, slippery, sloppy, uncertain, unintelligible, woolly). (various references)

   

Bulgarian 

  

съмнителен (alleged, ambiguous, amphibious, dingy, disputable, doubtful, dubious, equivocal, fishy, fly-by-night, hedge, hole-and-corner, indeterminate, moot, off beat, phoney, precarious, problematic, queer, questionable, screwy, seedy, shady, shaky, suspect, suspicious, uncertain, unsure), смътен (cloudy, dreamy, indefinable, indefinite, indistinct, misty, obscure, remote, shadowy, sneaking, unformed), неясно формулиран, неясно почувстван, неясно изразен, неясен (abstruse, ambiguous, amorphous, blear, bleary, confused, crepuscular, dark, doubtful, dreamy, dusk, fuzzy, hazy, illegible, inarticulate, indecisive, indefinable, indefinite, indistinct, intangible, involved, inward, loose, misty, muddy, muzzy, nebulous, obscure, pale, recondite, shadowy, soft, transcendental, ulterior, unclear, undecided, unformed, vapory, vapoury, wan, woolly), неопределен (ambiguous, amorphous, formless, inconclusive, indecisive, indefinable, indefinite, indeterminable, indeterminate, indistinct, inexplicit, infinitive, loose, neutral, nondescript, uncertain, undefined, undetermined, unidentified), двусмислен (ambiguity, ambiguous, dark, double, double meaning, double-barrelled, double-hearted, equivocal, oracular, two-edged). (various references)

   

Chinese 

  

隐晦, 隱約 (faint, indistinct), (vast), 糢糊 (foggy, murky), (generative force, hemp, mysterious, orange color), (float, general), (remote), 模糊 (fuzzy, indistinct), 含糊 (obscurity). (various references)

   

Czech

  

vágní (dim, hazy, impressionistic, lax, sloppy), nezřetelný (indistinct, obscure, unclear, woolly), neurèitý (ambiguous, impressionistic, indefinable, indefinite, indeterminate, inexplicit, intangible, undeclared), nepřesný (impressionistic, inaccurate, incorrect, inexact, looking forward, unfaithful, untrue, woolly), nejasný (abstruse, ambiguous, dim, dimmish, equivocal, faint, fuzzy, hazy, indeterminate, indistinct, misty, obscure, stolid, tenuous, unclear, woolly), mlhavý (dim, foggy, hazy, indefinite, misty, nebulous, vapoury), matný (dim, dull, frosted, lacklustre, opaque). (various references)

   

Danish

  

uklar kendt sandsynlighedstæthedsfunktion (diffuse prior, in Bayesian inference, vague prior), erindringsø (amnestic vague remebrance). (various references)

   

Dutch

  

schetsmatig (general), in het groot (general, wholesale), algemeen (common, general, joint, umbrella, universal, usual, worldwide). (various references)

   

Esperanto

  

maldetala (general). (various references)

   

Farsi 

  

مبهم (Ambiguous, Dim, Dusky, Enigmatic, Esoteric, Imprecise, Misty, Mysterious, Obscure, Opaque), غیرمعلوم , سربسته وابهام دار. (various references)

   

Finnish

  

hatara (flimsy, loose, poorly constructed, ramshackle, unsubstantial), epämääräinen (hazy, indefinite, indeterminate, nondescript, uncertain, undetermined, woolly). (various references)

   

French

  

vague (vacant, vagueness), troublé, indistinct, indécis (vacillating), imprécis, flou, confus. (various references)

   

German

  

undeutlich (blurred, dimly, hazy, illegible, inarticulate, inarticulately, indefinite, indefinitely, indistinct, indistinctly, indistinguishable, muddled, mumblingly, obscure, obscurely, slurred, unarticulate, uncertain, unclear, undistinguishable, undistinguished, unemphatic, unexplicit), unklar (blurred, cloudy, doubtful, equivocal, equivocally, foggy, foul, hazy, incoherent, indefinite, indefinitely, indeterminate, indistinct, indistinctly, inexplicit, misty, murky, nebulous, nondistinctive, obscure, obscurely, opaque, sketchy, unclarified, unclear, woolly). (various references)

   

Greek 

  

ακαθόριστοσ (amorphous, noncommittal, nondescript, unsettled), αόριστοσ (indefinite, indeterminate, intangible, preterit, undetermined), ασαφήσ (ambiguous, blear, fuzzy, hazy, indeterminate, indistinct, inexplicit, misty), αβέβαιοσ (equivocal, precarious, touch and go, uncertain, unsure). (various references)

   

Hebrew 

  

מופשט (abstract, intangible, metaphysical), עמום (abstruse, dim, faint, frosting, fuzzy, muzzy, obscure, obtuse, opaque, tarnish), ערפילי (foggy, misty, nebulous), סתמי (indefinite, neutral), סתום (abstruse, blocked, closed, closing, congested, corking, incomprehensible, obscure, stopped up, stopping, vagueness). (various references)

   

Hungarian

  

bizonytalan (choppy, cranky, dicey, dim, dubious, elusive, equivocal, faint, faltering, fickle, have cold feet, hazy, hesitating, indefinite, indeterminate, insecure, irresolute, nondescript, obscure, pennky, precarious, questionable, sandy, scratchy, shaky, speculative, suspensive, to be in the air, to hang in the air, to hang in the balance, transcendental, uncertain, unsettled, unsteady, unsure, woozy). (various references)

   

Indonesian

  

tidak jelas (cryptic, inarticulate), samar-samar (blur, blurry, cryptic, vaguely), redam (dim, faint, hushed, muffled). (various references)

   

Italian

  

vago - incerto - indistinto - indeterminato - impreciso, vago (dim, dreamy, faint, hazy, indefinite, loose, nebulous, remote, undefined, undesignated, undetermined), sfocato (blurred, fuzzy, hazy, out of focus), nebuloso (hazy, nebulous), indistinto (dim, fuzzy, hazy, inarticulate, indistinct, nebulous, shadowy, undistinguishable, unemphatic, unexplicit), incerto (aleatory, borderline, dim, doubtful, dubious, in question, irresolute, open, questionable, shadowy, tentative, touch and go, uncertain, unclear, undecided, unsettled, unsure). (various references)

   

Japanese Kanji 

  

(equivocal, obscure), 散漫 (desultory, diffuse, distracted, half-hearted, loose). (various references)

   

Japanese Katakana 

  

ばくぜ"たる (hazy, obscure), もうもうたる (dense, dim, thick), もうろう (ambiguous, dim, faint, hazy, indistinct), もうろうたる (dim, hazy, obscure), あやふや (ambiguous, uncertain), あいまい (ambiguous), あいまいも" (ambiguous, obscure), いいか'" (halfhearted, irresponsible, moderate, not thorough, random, right), にえきらない (half-cooked, halfhearted, indecisive), とりとめのない (incoherent, rambling, wandering, whimsical), ばくぜ" (equivocal, obscure), たよりない (flaky, forlorn, helpless, undependable, unreliable), ふとくようりょう (ambiguous, noncommittal), ふぶ"めい (indistinct, obscure), さ"ま" (desultory, diffuse, distracted, half-hearted, loose), ぼ"やり (absent-minded, block-head, dim, faint), ぼうばくたる (boundless, obscure, vast), くうばく (aerial bombing, vast), くうくうばくばく (boundless, empty, vast), なまにえ (ambiguous, half-cooked, immature, rare), ばくばく (obscure, vast). (various references)

   

Korean 

  

막연한 (undefinable). (various references)

   

Manx

  

neuvaghtal (abstruse, imperceptible, inconspicuous, indistinct), neuchruinn (hazy, inaccurate, inexact), neuchronnal (camouflaged, garbled, imperceptible, inconspicuous, indistinct, indistinguishable, sketchy, unclear), feayn (expansive, extensive, horizontal, roomy, vast, wide). (various references)

   

Pig Latin

  

aguevay.(various references)

   

Portuguese

  

vago (empty, faraway lands, fuzzy, general, half-light, hazy, indeclinable, indelibility, indescribable, indeterminate, jumbled up, lax, loose, nebulous, neutral country, remote, spare, transcendental, vacant), pouco seguro (pastel, rickety, unassured, unsafe, unsteady, untrustworthy, wonky), indeterminado (indefinite, indeterminate, neutral, non-ductile, undetermined, unsolved), indefinido (general, indefinite, indestructible, loose, neutral, unlimited), indeciso (blear, double-minded, doubtfully, drawn, feckless, fitful, half hearted, halve, indecisive, index, irresolution, laconic, pendant, pending, shilly shally, suspended, undecided, undetermined, unresolved, unsettled, unsolved, unsteady, up in the air, vacillating, wavering), incapaz de uma decisão, impreciso (blear, fuzzy, hit-and-miss, impregnable, inaccurate, incorrect, indefinite, indeterminate, lacklustre, sketchy, wrong), geral (across the board, all purpose, broad, current, exoteric, gallery, general, multiracial, overhead, public, universal, usual, worldwide), aéreo (aerial, aery, airy, etherial, irresponsive, overground, overhead). (various references)

   

Romanian

  

vag (dim, distant, dull, dusty, evasive, evasively, faint, general, hazy, indefinable, indefinite, indeterminate, indistinct, lax, loose, loosely, misty, muddy, nebulous, remote, shadowy, sketchy, slight, washy), pierdut (absent minded, blankly, far away, forfeit, gone, lost, missing, stray, wasted), nelãmurit (obscure, shadowy, uncertain, unenlightened, vaguely), nehotãrât (at pause, doubtful, dubitative, hesitating, indecisive, indefinite, infirm of purpose, irresolute, namby-pamby, pendent, pending, undecided), nedefinit (indefinite, nondescript, undefined), neclar (blind, cloudy, confused, dark, darkly, difficult, diffuse, dim, dull, feeble, foggy, gloomily, hazy, inarticulate, indistinct, inexplicit, lax, muddy, obscurely, vaguely), indefinit (dusty), indecis (irresolute), imprecis (unprecise), fantomatic (dreamlike, ghostlike, ghostly, phantom-like, spectral, spookish), difuz (diffuse, diffused, pale), confuz (abashed, addle, bewildered, blurred, chaotic, confused, crabbed, dim, embarrassed, faint, gloomily, hazy, hugger mugger, misty, muddy, muzzy, nebulous, stodgy, turbid, washy, wrongheaded), ceţos (brumous, dim, dull, filmy, foggy, hazy, misty, nebulous, vaporous). (various references)

   

Russian 

  

неопределенный (atemporal, chancy, dusty, hazy, iffy, imponderable, imprecise, indecisive, indefinite, indeterminate, inexplicit, infinite, infinitive, lax, suspenseful, uncertain, undefined, undetermined, unspecified, unsure). (various references)

   

Serbo-Croatian

  

nejasan (abstruse, bleary, blurred, dim, fuzzy, hazy, indistinct, indistinctive, nebulous, obscure, recondite, unclear, undetermined), nebulozan (nebulous), maglovit (brumous, foggy, hazy, misty, muzzy, nebulous). (various references)

   

Spanish

  

vago (bone-idle, erratic, faint, idle, Idler, lazybones, loiterer, loose, nameless, shadowy, sketchy, slacker, slouch, sloven, tramp, truant, twilight, vacant), indistinto (dim, faint, indiscriminate, indistinct, undistinguishable, unemphatic, unexplicit), incierto (aleatory, broken, incertitude, indefinite, treacherous, uncertain), impreciso (imprecise, indefinite, loose), equívoco (ambiguity, ambiguous, double entendre, equivocal, equivocation, mistake, mistaken, non committal, pun, quibble), distraído (absent, absentminded, absent-minded, abstracted, amusing, casual, distracted, distrait, dreamy, entertaining, faraway, heedless, inattentive, lackadaisical, moony, unobservant, untidy, vacant, wandering), despistado (lackadaisical), de ideas poco precisas, borroso (bleary, blurred, faint, fuzzy, indistinct, muzzy, smudgy). (various references)

   

Swedish

  

vag (airy, diaphanous, foggy, impalpable, inarticulate, indefinite, indeterminate, intangible, loose, obscure, obtuse), svävande (flit, floating, hovering, indeterminate, pensile), otydlig (bleary, diaphanous, faint, inarticulate, indistinct, inexplicit, muzzy, obscure). (various references)

   

Turkish

  

müphem (ambiguous, undefined), kararsız (ambivalent, astatic, baffling, changeable, changeful, double-minded, doubtful, dubious, erratic, faltering, fickle, flighty, fluctuating, flukey, fluky, fluxional, halting, hazy, hesitant, inconsistent, inconstant, indecisive, infirm, infirm of purpose, irresolute, precarious, restless, shilly shally, uncertain, uncommitted, undecided, undetermined, unresolved, unsettled, unstable, unsteady, vacillating, vagabond, wayward, weak-kneed), hayal meyal (dreaming, dreamy, fuzzy, indistinct, indistinctly, misty, shadowy), dalgın (absent, absent minded, abstracted, deep, distrait, dreamy, engrossed, far away, far off, faraway, glassy, lost, meditative, moony, pensive, plunged in thought, preoccupied, reflective, ruminant, ruminative, self-absorbed, stargazer, thoughtful, unheedful, vacant, vacuous, wandering, wistful, woolgathering), belirsiz (ambiguous, backhanded, clouded, cloudy, cloudyly, dubious, dusty, equivocal, foggy, fuzzy, hazy, in the balance, indefinable, indefinite, indescribable, indeterminate, indistinct, inglorious, lax, misty, obscure, off color, off colour, precarious, shadowy, uncertain, unclear, undefined, undetermined, unsettled), anlaşılmaz (bottomless, clear as mud, complicated, deep, delphic, elusive, elusory, fathomless, impenetrable, inapprehensible, inarticulate, incomprehensible, inconceivable, inexplicable, inscrutable, intangible, obscure, occult, opaque, oracular, perplexed, puzzling, recondite, sphinxlike, unaccountable, uncanny, unintelligible, weird). (various references)

   

Turkmen 

  

яaюyryn (stealthy). (various references)

   

Ukranian 

  

неуважний (absent, absentminded, abstracted, careless, distrait, erratic, faraway, forgetful, inadvertent, inattentive, inconsiderate, incurious, inobservant, mused, neglectful, negligent, oblivious, oscitant, outward, unmindful), нерішучий (backward, double-minded, faltering, half hearted, hesitant, indecisive, irresolute, pendulous, shilly shally, sticky, suspensive, undecided, undetermined, unready, unresolved, unsteadfast, vacillating, wavery, weak), невизначений (ambiguous, indefinable, twilight, uncertain, undetermined, unsure). (various references)

   

Vietnamese 

  

mơ h" (dark, darkly, dubious, foggy, indefinable, intangible, problematic, problematical, undefined), lờ mờ (adumbration, dim, dreamy, dubious, dusty, indeterminate, indistinct). (various references)

   

Welsh

  

brith (brindled, gray, grey, indistinct, motley, mottled, speckled), annelwig (shapeless, unformed), amhendant (indefinite). (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Ancestral Language Translations: Vague

LanguagePeriodTranslations
Latin500 BCE-Modern

confusa, confusi, confusum, confusus, obscura, obscurior, obscuris, obscuro, obscurum, vagus. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Derivations & Misspellings: Vague

Derivations

Words beginning with "vague": vaguely, vagueness, vaguenesses, vaguer, vaguest. (additional references)


Misspellings

"Vague" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: bageu, Dague, fague, lague, pague, vacu, vag, Vaga, vage, vaggie, vagued, vaguen, vagues, Vanua, vaque, varu, vau, vaue, vauel, vauge, vege, veque, veue, viaggio, Vigee, vigue, vigule, vigus, vogued, vogule, vuage. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Rhyming with "Vague"

# of Phoneme MatchesPronunciationWord(s) rhyming with "vague" (pronounced vā"g)
2-ā" gplague.

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

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Anagrams: Vague

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Words within the letters "a-e-g-u-v"

-1 letter: ague, gave, uvea.

-2 letters: age, ave, eau, gae, guv, vau, veg, vug.

-3 letters: ae, ag.

 Words containing the letters "a-e-g-u-v"
 

+1 letter: vaguer.

 

+2 letters: gravure, outgave, sevruga, vaguely, vaguest, vulgate.

 

+3 letters: burgrave, gravures, sevrugas, valguses, voyageur, vulgarer, vulgates.

 

+4 letters: burgraves, devaluing, purgative, quavering, revaluing, unavenged, unaverage, unweaving, upheaving, vagueness, voyageurs, vulgarest, vulgarise, vulgarize, waveguide.

 

+5 letters: eigenvalue, eluviating, evacuating, evaluating, exuviating, figurative, overslaugh, purgatives, regulative, subaverage, travelogue, unraveling, unwavering, vulgarised, vulgarises, vulgarized, vulgarizer, vulgarizes, waveguides.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

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Alternative Orthography: Vague


Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)

56 61 67 75 65

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)

American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)

=

Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)

Braille (1829, in France) (references)

Morse Code (1836) (references)

...-    .-    --.    ..-    .

Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)

Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)

01010110 01100001 01100111 01110101 01100101

HTML Code (1990) (references)

&#86 &#97 &#103 &#117 &#101

ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)

0056 0061 0067 0075 0065

British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)

Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)

5667738771

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INDEX

1. Definition
2. Synonyms
3. Crosswords
4. Usage: Modern
5. Usage: Commercial
6. Quotations: Familiar
7. Quotations: Historic
8. Quotations: Fiction
9. Quotations: Non-fiction
10. Usage Frequency
11. Expressions
12. Expressions: Internet
13. Translations: Modern
14. Translations: Ancient
15. Derivations
16. Rhymes
17. Anagrams
18. Orthography
19. Bibliography


  

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.