vague S3 /veɪɡ/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: French ; Origin: Latin vagus 'wandering, vague' ]
1 . unclear because someone does not give enough detailed information or does not say exactly what they mean:
The governor gave only a vague outline of his tax plan.
vague about
Julia was vague about where she had been and what she had been doing.
2 . have a vague idea/feeling/recollection etc (that) to think that something might be true or that you remember something, although you cannot be sure:
Larry had the vague feeling he’d done something embarrassing the night before.
3 . not having a clear shape or form SYN indistinct :
The vague shape of a figure loomed through the mist.
—vagueness noun [uncountable]
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COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ adjectives
▪ a vague idea/notion
The students only had a vague idea of what they were supposed to do.
▪ a vague sense/feeling
She had a vague feeling that she had let something important slip away.
▪ a vague recollection/memory
I have only a vague recollection of what the house looked like.
▪ a vague impression
Everything happens so quickly, though, that all you are left with is a vague impression.
▪ a vague suspicion
A vague suspicion began to tug at Benny's mind.
▪ a vague unease/dread
I felt a vague unease.