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

Some pictures of the laptop look vaguely Photoshopped, like someone grabbed the top of the screen and stretched it out. —Ars Technica, 10 Jan. 2025

The exception is the quarter-dollar-size disk in the middle of the lid, which vaguely resembles a speaker and is raised slightly from the lid surface. —John Burek, PCMAG, 10 Jan. 2025

These legal tenets, designed to quash criticism of, and political opposition to, Beijing’s ultimate authority are vaguely worded and far-reaching in application. —James Marsh, Deadline, 10 Jan. 2025

Image In person, dressed in black pants and a black leather blazer that gave her a vaguely edgy air, Ms. Wiles projected nothing more than a friendly, crisp competence. —Elisabeth Bumiller, New York Times, 9 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1663, in the meaning defined above