grey area en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
Because grey is a blend of black and white.
Meanings
-
(idiomatic) An area intermediate between two mutually exclusive states or categories, where the border between the two is fuzzy or ill-defined.
It exists in a grey area between legal and illegal.
-
(idiomatic) A topic that is not clearly one thing or the other, that is open to interpretation.
Fame is a grey area[.]
2007 May, Men's Health, volume 22, number 4, page 94:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| grey areas | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| gray area | alternative | lexicographic |
Antonyms
black and white · bright line · night and day
Coordinates
Relateds
twilight zone · grey market · grey literature · grey hat · greyline · fall between two stools
Synonyms
Translations (14)
nb gråsone (area intermediate between two fuzzily-distinguished categories) · ru се́рая зо́на (area intermediate between two fuzzily-distinguished categories) · fi harmaa alue (area intermediate between two fuzzily-distinguished categories) · sv gråzon (area intermediate between two fuzzily-distinguished categories) · nn gråsone (area intermediate between two fuzzily-distinguished categories) · da gråzone (area intermediate between two fuzzily-distinguished categories) · de Grauzone (area intermediate between two fuzzily-distinguished categories) · ja グレーゾーン (area intermediate between two fuzzily-distinguished categories) · ko 애매한 영역 (area intermediate between two fuzzily-distinguished categories) · da gråt område (area intermediate between two fuzzily-distinguished categories) · pl szara strefa (area intermediate between two fuzzily-distinguished categories) · cmn 灰色地帶 /灰色地带 (area intermediate between two fuzzily-distinguished categories) · fr zone grise (area intermediate between two fuzzily-distinguished categories) · ja 灰色の領域 (area intermediate between two fuzzily-distinguished categories)