vagueness en · NOUN
Etymology
Etymology tree English vague Proto-Germanic *-in- Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ti Proto-Germanic *-ōną Proto-Germanic *-inōną Proto-Indo-European *-dyé- Proto-Germanic *-atjaną Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Germanic *-þuz Proto-Germanic *-assuz Proto-Germanic *-inassuz Proto-West Germanic *-nassī Old English -nes Middle English -nesse English -ness English vagueness From vague + -ness.
Meanings
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(uncountable) The condition of being imprecise or unclear in meaning: vague.
Near-synonyms: ambiguousness, ambiguity
On Wednesday night, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction against a new California law that makes physicians subject to professional discipline for sharing COVID-19 "misinformation" with their patients. U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb concluded that California's definition of misinformation is unconstitutionally vague, failing to give doctors fair notice of which conduct the statute covers, which is a basic requirement of due process. That vagueness is especially problematic in this context, Shubb said, because it is apt to have a chilling effect on speech protected by the First Amendment.
2023 January 26, Jacob Sullum, “A Federal Judge Blocks California's Ban on Medical Advice That Promotes COVID-19 'Misinformation'”, in Reason:
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(countable) Something which is vague, or an instance or example of vagueness.
If a man's deep and conscientious regard for the truth be such that he cannot, consistently with the requisitions of his moral nature, repeat to others mere vaguenesses and uncertainties, he will naturally give such strict and serious attention to the present objects of inquiry and knowledge, that they will remain in his memory afterward with remarkable distinctness and permanency.
1857, Thomas Cogswell Upham, Elements of Mental Philosophy, page 329:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| vaguenesses | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Hypernyms
Synonyms
Translations (31)
fi epäselvyys (something which is vague) · tr belirsizlik (condition of being unclear) · sv vaghet (condition of being unclear) · it vaghezza (condition of being unclear) · cs vágnost (condition of being unclear) · ru расплы́вчатость (condition of being unclear) · ja 漠然 (condition of being unclear) · pt vaguidão (condition of being unclear) · pt vagueza (condition of being unclear) · eo svageco (condition of being unclear) · ru неопределённость (condition of being unclear) · cmn 含糊 (condition of being unclear) · fi epäselvyys (condition of being unclear) · de Unklarheit (condition of being unclear) · tr müphemlik (condition of being unclear) · sv otydlighet (condition of being unclear) · th ความคลุมเครือ (condition of being unclear) · fi hämäryys (condition of being unclear) · fi epämääräisyys (condition of being unclear) · ca vaguetat (condition of being unclear) · de Vagheit (condition of being unclear) · sv obestämdhet (condition of being unclear) · tr müphemiyet (condition of being unclear) · ar إِبْهَام (condition of being unclear) · es vaguedad (condition of being unclear) · eo svageco (something which is vague) · tr muğlaklık (condition of being unclear) · de Verschwommenheit (condition of being unclear) · es inconcreción (condition of being unclear) · fi epämääräisyys (something which is vague) · pt vaguidade (condition of being unclear)