What does vagueness mean?
Vagueness is the quality of being indistinct, unspecified, or difficult to interpret with confidence. It is especially common in discussions of language: a vague statement may sound accommodating while leaving its meaning unclear or evading a precise commitment. The word can also describe visual qualities, such as a distant figure whose outline has become unclear through mist or fading light. Vagueness is not identical to ambiguity. Ambiguity usually means that a statement has more than one plausible interpretation, whereas vagueness emphasizes missing precision, detail, or definition. The term occurs in both formal criticism and ordinary conversation, often with disapproval when it characterizes evasive writing or deliberately unspecified rules. As a useful vocabulary word, it allows a speaker to identify not only the presence of uncertainty but also the absence of enough detail to make a statement reliable, exact, or easily understood.
nounThe quality of being vague, especially the lack of definite detail, precise meaning, or clear definition. It may refer to unclear expression, indistinct appearance, or an uncertain boundary or outcome.
- Lack of precision, specificity, or clarity, especially in expression or meaning.
"She answered with such vagueness that nobody knew what she meant."
"The report was criticized for its vagueness and avoidance of concrete details."
"In the fading light, the mountains lost their sharpness and dissolved into vagueness."
Usually treated as a mass noun; the plural is uncommon and is used mainly when referring to separate instances of vagueness.
"The editor tried to eliminate the various vaguenesses in the proposal."
From a Latin word for “wandering,” vagueness describes language or ideas that have not settled into a definite shape.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does vagueness come from?
Vagueness was formed in English by adding the suffix -ness to the adjective vague. The adjective came through French from Latin vagus, meaning “wandering” or “straying,” and the noun developed from the resulting idea of indistinctness. Its relatives include vagary, vagrant, vagabond, and vagility, all associated with the same broad Latin root of wandering or movement.
How vagueness is actually used
Vagueness is common in formal and informal English. It can be neutral when describing indistinct perception or form, but it often carries a critical connotation when applied to speech, writing, promises, or policies that avoid specificity.
Easily confused with vagueness
Vague is the adjective describing something unclear, while vagueness names the quality or condition of being unclear.