different between offhand vs vague
offhand
English
Alternative forms
- off-hand
Etymology
From Middle English *ofhande, *ofhende, from Old English ofhende (“absent, lost”), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *abahandijaz. Equivalent to off- +? hand. Cognate with Icelandic afhendur. Compare onhand.
Pronunciation
- (US) IPA(key): /??f?hænd/
- Rhymes: -ænd
Adjective
offhand (comparative more offhand, superlative most offhand)
- Without planning or thinking ahead.
- Careless; without sufficient thought or consideration.
- Curt, abrupt, unfriendly.
Synonyms
- (without planning): impromptu, extemporaneous, off-the-cuff; see also Thesaurus:impromptu
Translations
See also
- off the top of one's head
Adverb
offhand (comparative more offhand, superlative most offhand)
- Right away, immediately, without thinking about it.
- Offhand, I'd guess that that's a yellow-bellied sapsucker.
- 1854, William Makepeace Thackeray, The Rose and the Ring:
- We will have no more of this shilly-shallying! Call the Archbishop, and let the Prince and Princess be married offhand!
- In an offhand (adjective) manner.
Anagrams
- hand off, hand-off, handoff
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vague
English
Etymology
From Middle French vague, from Latin vagus (“uncertain, vague”, literally “wandering, rambling, strolling”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ve??/
- IPA(key): (Upper Midwest US) /væ?/
- Rhymes: -e??, -æ?
Adjective
vague (comparative vaguer, superlative vaguest)
- Not clearly expressed; stated in indefinite terms.
- 2004: Chris Wallace, Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage
- Throughout the first week of his presidency, Dulles and Bissell continued to brief Kennedy on their strategy for Cuba, but the men were vague and their meetings offered little in the way of hard facts.
- inarticulate, Synonym: unclear; see also Thesaurus:incomprehensible
- 2004: Chris Wallace, Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage
- Not having a precise meaning.
- Synonyms: ambiguous, equivocal
- Not clearly defined, grasped, or understood; indistinct; slight.
- Synonyms: ambiguous, equivocal, indistinct, obscure; see also Thesaurus:vague
- Not clearly felt or sensed; somewhat subconscious.
- Not thinking or expressing one’s thoughts clearly or precisely.
- 1962, Philip Larkin, "Toads Revisited"
- Waxed-fleshed out-patients / Still vague from accidents, / And characters in long coats / Deep in the litter-baskets […]
- Synonym: dazed
- 1962, Philip Larkin, "Toads Revisited"
- Lacking expression; vacant.
- Synonyms: vacant, vacuous
- Not sharply outlined; hazy.
- Synonyms: fuzzy, hazy, ill-defined; see also Thesaurus:indistinct
- Wandering; vagrant; vagabond.
- 1630, John Hayward, The Life and Raigne of King Edward VI
- The Lord Gray incourag'd his men to set sharply upon the vague villains
- Synonyms: erratic, roaming, unsettled, vagrant, vagabond
- 1630, John Hayward, The Life and Raigne of King Edward VI
Related terms
Translations
Noun
vague (plural vagues)
- (obsolete) A wandering; a vagary.
- An indefinite expanse.
- 1870, James Russell Lowell, The Cathedral
- The gray vague of unsympathizing sea.
- 1870, James Russell Lowell, The Cathedral
Verb
vague (third-person singular simple present vagues, present participle vaguing, simple past and past participle vagued)
- (archaic) to wander; to roam; to stray.
- 1603, Philemon Holland (translator), The Philosophie, commonly called, the Morals
- [The soul] doth vague and wander.
- 1603, Philemon Holland (translator), The Philosophie, commonly called, the Morals
- To become vague or act in a vague manner.
Further reading
- vague in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- vague in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
- vague at OneLook Dictionary Search
Catalan
Etymology
From Latin vagus.
Pronunciation
- (Balearic) IPA(key): /?va.??/
- (Central) IPA(key): /?ba.??/
- (Valencian) IPA(key): /?va.?e/
Adjective
vague (feminine vaga, masculine and feminine plural vagues)
- vague
Derived terms
- vagament
Further reading
- “vague” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “vague” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
- “vague” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “vague” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
French
Etymology 1
From Middle French [Term?], from Old French vague (“movement on the surface of a liquid, ripple”), from Old Norse vágr (“sea”), from Proto-Germanic *w?gaz (“wave, storm”), from Proto-Indo-European *we??- (“to drag, carry”). Cognate with Swedish våg (“wave”), Middle Dutch waeghe, wage (“wave”), Old High German w?ge (“wave”), Old English w?g (“wave, billow, motion, flood”). More at waw, wave.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /va?/
Noun
vague f (plural vagues)
- wave
- 2014, Indila, Comme un bateau
- 2014, Indila, Comme un bateau
Derived terms
- faire des vagues
- vague de chaleur
- vague de froid
- vaguelette
- vaguette
Etymology 2
From Middle French vague, from Latin vagus (“uncertain, vague”, literally “wandering, rambling, strolling”). Possibly a doublet of gai.
Adjective
vague (plural vagues)
- vague
Noun
vague m (plural vagues)
- vagueness
- Synonym: distrait
Derived terms
- terrain vague
- vague à l'âme
- vaguement
Further reading
- “vague” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Galician
Verb
vague
- first/third-person singular present subjunctive of vagar
Portuguese
Verb
vague
- first-person singular (eu) present subjunctive of vagar
- third-person singular (ele and ela, also used with você and others) present subjunctive of vagar
- third-person singular (você) affirmative imperative of vagar
- third-person singular (você) negative imperative of vagar
Spanish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?ba?e/, [?ba.??e]
Verb
vague
- First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of vagar.
- Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of vagar.
- Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present subjunctive form of vagar.
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