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adjective · 1 syllable · /veɪɡ/

VAGUE

What does "VAGUE" mean?

Not clearly or precisely expressed, defined, or understood.

Meanings

  1. Of thought or expression: imprecise, lacking clear definition or detail. She gave a vague answer that left everyone guessing.
  2. Of a shape, sound, or feeling: indistinct, faintly perceived. A vague shape moved behind the fogged glass.
  3. Of a person: showing a lack of sharp thought or attention. He's a bit vague before his morning coffee. informal

Did you know?

  • The 'vagus' nerve - the longest of the cranial nerves, snaking from brainstem to gut - shares its name with 'vague': both come from Latin 'vagus', meaning 'wandering'.

Word origin

From Latin 'vagus' meaning 'wandering, roving, unsettled', via French 'vague'; the same root gives 'vagrant' and 'vagary'.

Remember it

VAGUE keeps a silent U and E that 'wander' onto the end with no clear job - the word's shape is as imprecise as its meaning.

A little poem

Fog over the bay-
a boat, or maybe a bird,
or maybe nothing.

haiku

Wordplay

  • I was going to tell you a joke about being vague, but I'm not sure where it goes.

What it teaches

Vagueness is often a choice dressed as honesty: it lets the speaker be right no matter what happens.

Quick facts

What does VAGUE mean?

Not clearly or precisely expressed, defined, or understood.

Is VAGUE a valid word?

Yes — VAGUE is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.

How many letters is VAGUE?

VAGUE has 5 letters and 1 syllable.

Where does VAGUE come from?

From Latin 'vagus' meaning 'wandering, roving, unsettled', via French 'vague'; the same root gives 'vagrant' and 'vagary'.

What can VAGUE teach us?

Vagueness is often a choice dressed as honesty: it lets the speaker be right no matter what happens.

How players do

Be the first to solve it.

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