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

Most prices are only vaguely connected to resource opportunity costs. —James Broughel, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025

Instead, Green presents a flimsy scenario of one popstar wielding his power for vaguely nefarious purposes. —Madison Bloom, Pitchfork, 10 Mar. 2025

The reasons that King accepted this job are vaguely addressed, but ultimately don’t withstand any serious analytical pressure. —Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Mar. 2025

The vaguely byzantine court intrigue is secondary to Gray Alys and Boyce’s relationship, which the film builds patiently and methodically — even at the expense sometimes of the action scenes, some of which probably go by too quickly. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1663, in the meaning defined above