vague
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also vagué
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English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle French vague, from Latin vagus (“wandering, rambling, strolling, fig. uncertain, vague”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Adjective[edit]
vague (comparative vaguer, superlative vaguest)
- not clearly expressed; stated in indefinite terms.
- 1921, Bertrand Russell, The Analysis of Mind:
- 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.
- 2004: Chris Wallace, Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage
- 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.
- 1921, Bertrand Russell, The Analysis of Mind:
- 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
- I haven’t the vaguest idea.
- not clearly felt or sensed; somewhat subconscious.
- a vague longing
- not thinking or expressing one’s thoughts clearly or precisely.
- lacking expression; vacant.
- not sharply outlined; hazy.
Synonyms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
not clearly expressed
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not having a precise meaning
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not clearly defined, grasped, or understood
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not clearly felt or sensed
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not thinking or expressing one’s thoughts clearly or precisely
lacking expression
not sharply outlined
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
Noun[edit]
vague (plural vagues)
- (obsolete) A wandering; a vagary.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Holinshed to this entry?)
- An indefinite expanse.
- Lowell
- The gray vague of unsympathizing sea.
- Lowell
Verb[edit]
vague (third-person singular simple present vagues, present participle vaguing, simple past and past participle vagued)
External links[edit]
- vague in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
- vague in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
- vague at OneLook Dictionary Search
Catalan[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Latin vagus.
Adjective[edit]
vague m (feminine vaga, masculine and feminine plural vagues)
Derived terms[edit]
French[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
From Middle French, from Old French vague (“movement on the surface of a liquid, ripple”), from Old Norse vágr (“sea”), from Proto-Germanic *wēgaz (“wave, storm”), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵhe- (“to drag, carry”). Cognate with Swedish våg (“wave”), Middle Dutch waeghe, wage (“wave”), Old High German wāge (“wave”), Old English wǣg (“wave, billow, motion, flood”). More at waw, wave.
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
vague f (plural vagues)
Related terms[edit]
Etymology 2[edit]
Adjective[edit]
vague (masculine and feminine, plural vagues)
Noun[edit]
vague m (plural vagues)
Synonyms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Galician[edit]
Verb[edit]
vague
- first-person singular present subjunctive of vagar
- third-person singular present subjunctive of vagar
Portuguese[edit]
Verb[edit]
vague
- First-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of vagar
- Third-person singular (ele, ela, also used with tu and você?) present subjunctive of vagar
- First-person singular (eu) affirmative imperative of vagar
- Third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of vagar
- Third-person singular (você) negative imperative of vagar
Spanish[edit]
Verb[edit]
vague (infinitive vagar)
Categories:
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English adjectives
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English verbs
- Catalan terms derived from Latin
- Catalan adjectives
- French terms derived from Middle French
- French terms derived from Old French
- French terms derived from Old Norse
- French terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- French terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- French nouns
- French feminine nouns
- French adjectives
- French masculine nouns
- Galician verb forms
- Portuguese verb forms
- Portuguese forms of verbs ending in -ar
- Portuguese verb subjunctive forms
- Portuguese verb first-person forms
- Portuguese verb singular forms
- Portuguese verb present forms
- Portuguese verb third-person forms
- Portuguese verb imperative forms
- Portuguese verb affirmative forms
- Portuguese verb negative forms
- Spanish verb forms
- Spanish verb subjunctive forms
- Spanish verb singular forms
- Spanish verb first-person forms
- Spanish verb present forms
- Spanish forms of verbs ending in -ar
- Spanish verb second-person forms
- Spanish verb formal forms
- Spanish verb third-person forms
