nebulous

[neb-yuh-luhs]

adjective

1. hazy, vague, indistinct, or confused.

   a nebulous recollection of the meeting; a nebulous distinction between pride and conceit.

2. cloudy or cloudlike.

3. of or resembling a nebula or nebulae in deep space; nebular.

nebulous

/ ˈnɛbjʊləs /

adjective

1. lacking definite form, shape, or content; vague or amorphous

   nebulous reasons

2. of, characteristic of, or resembling a nebula

3. rare,  misty or hazy

Other Word Forms

• nebulously adverb
• nebulousness noun
• nonnebulous adjective
• nonnebulously adverb
• nonnebulousness noun
• quasi-nebulous adjective
• quasi-nebulously adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of nebulous¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English, from Latin nebulōsus “full of mist, foggy, cloudy,” from nebul(a) “cloud, mist, vapor” ( nebula ) + -ōsus -ous

Example Sentences

Since the last conscript passed out in 2001 there have been various, nebulous attempts to retain something of the spirit of military service, which proponents said fostered a sense of cohesion and equality.

Read more on BBC

The museum’s nebulous, careful positioning in many ways mirrors the politics that may have buried Kelly’s and Johnson’s involvement six decades ago.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

No business could be more objective than money management, and yet even in this business, facts and logic were overwhelmed by the nebulous social dimension of things.

Read more on Literature

All of that will be hard to do if they’re also shoveling billions of pounds into a nebulous “energy transition.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Antifa, a shorthand term for "anti-fascist," is a nebulous movement of left-wing activists that experts say is more a political ideology than an organized group.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• ambiguous 
• amorphous 
• hazy 
• imprecise 
• murky 
• shadowy 
• vague