vaguely

adverb

vague·​ly ˈvāg-lē 

: in a vague way: such as

a

: somewhat or slightly

He's vaguely familiar with the area.

… men on foot, dressed vaguely like janitors …

—A. L. Kennedy

b

: not clearly

There were grants, he explained vaguely, that had to be spent before the money went back to the federal government, so my main job was to buy lavish art books, as quickly as possible.

—Michael Blaine

Where once the city was a battleground for two main militias … now at least five militias claim vaguely defined pockets as their own.

—Jeffrey Bartholet

I've always believed closers are like girlfriends: You remember the great ones, you remember the awful ones and you vaguely remember everyone in between. (You could say the same about hockey goalies and field goal kickers.)

—Bill Simmons

Examples of vaguely in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

During an evening visit, researchers noticed some lizards that looked vaguely familiar, the study said. —Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2025

All of the new Sony TVs detailed in this article are available for pre-order as of today (April 2 2025), with actual shipping availability currently stated rather vaguely as Spring 2025. —John Archer, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025

The interview seems to go well, despite Morales being vaguely threatened by Eddie’s reference, Captain Nash, saying Eddie always has a place at the 118. —Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 27 Mar. 2025

But maybe that’s just emblematic of (gestures vaguely at everything). —Nina Metz, Boston Herald, 27 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1663, in the meaning defined above