indistinct
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of indistinct
From the Latin word indistinctus, dating back to 1520–30. See in- 3, distinct
Explanation
Is it hard to tell what someone is saying? Can you not see something clearly? Anything hard to make out is indistinct. Indistinct things are fuzzy, unclear, and hard to see or understand. A whisper can be indistinct. A clear, confident speaker is not indistinct. People like to say what a cloud is shaped like, but clouds are generally pretty indistinct — that's why different people will see different shapes in the same cloud. When we're writing, speaking, or drawing, we should try to be distinct, not indistinct — because we want to be understood.
Vocabulary lists containing indistinct
Holes
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It's All a Blur: Synonyms for "Unclear"
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Coraline
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The majority of its dozen tracks coast along with an agreeable yet lifeless electro-pop groove, with layered voices approximating the earnest and indistinct ballads of latter-day Coldplay.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026
The photo we see today is grainy and indistinct.
From BBC • Aug. 2, 2025
It's one of life's most defining moments -- that crucial step in embryonic development, when an indistinct ball of cells rearranges itself into the orderly three-layered structure that sets the stage for all to come.
From Science Daily • Mar. 23, 2024
Otherwise, Doug Liman’s 2005 action comedy is a slight distraction – fun, but indistinct.
From Salon • Feb. 2, 2024
As the figure on the road drew near, it took shape and grew indistinct again in the wavering heat.
From "Sounder" by William H. Armstrong
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
