ill-defined

[ il-di-fahynd ]

/ ˈɪl dɪˈfaɪnd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ill-defined ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

badly or inadequately defined; vague: He confuses the reader with ill-defined terms and concepts.

Nearby words

ill-boding, ill-bred, ill-conceived, ill-conditioned, ill-considered, ill-defined, ill-disguised, ill-disposed, ill-equipped, ill-fated, ill-favored

Origin of ill-defined

First recorded in 1865–70

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ill-defined

But according to Wyden, the bill is “full of holes, riddled with vagueness and ill-defined terms.”
Ron Wyden and Rand Paul, the Senate's NSA-Busting ‘Ben Franklin Caucus’|Eleanor Clift|June 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Natural-born citizen” is an ill-defined term that has not been used in a statute since 1790.
Ted Cruz’s Candidacy Would Be Awkward for Birthers|Ben Jacobs|August 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In the distance behind Gommecourt there is some ill-defined rising ground forming gullies and ravines.
The Old Front Line|John Masefield
I doubt if Kirby even glanced toward me, although if he did he saw only an ill-defined figure, with no glimpse of my face.
The Devil's Own|Randall Parrish

He must have no hazy impressions, no unthinking mind, no ill-defined ideas, no inexactness.
Public Speaking|Clarence Stratton
The island is divided into a great number of kingdoms, but so confusedly and ill-defined, that it were endless to enumerate them.
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume VII|Robert Kerr
In some ill-defined way Harrington Surtaine was involved in that nostalgia.
The Clarion|Samuel Hopkins Adams

British Dictionary definitions for ill-defined

ill-defined

adjective

imperfectly defined; having no clear outline

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012