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Synonyms

vaguely

American  
[veyg-lee] / ˈveɪg li /

adverb

  1. in a way that is unclear, imprecise, or uncertain: The sound was vaguely familiar, but she couldn't identify it.

    They've been talking vaguely about maybe buying a house there one of these days.

    The sound was vaguely familiar, but she couldn't identify it.


Other Word Forms

  • unvaguely adverb

Etymology

Origin of vaguely

vague ( def. ) + -ly

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.

And a Sherlock who only vaguely resembles the hero of the canonical 56 stories and four novels.

From The Wall Street Journal

I nodded vaguely at my bag, which had fallen when I’d tried to knock him over.

From Literature

Now that Professor Treebaun had mentioned it, I did vaguely recall my mom mentioning the multiple access points to the staircase Booth used.

From Literature

A months-long pilot phase will start this summer in a plant in Leipzig, with employees working alongside the vaguely human-like robots.

From Barron's

At first, I felt vaguely conspiratorial — like I was getting away with something.

From Salon