different between vague vs handwaving
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.
vague From the web:
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handwaving
English
Etymology
hand +? waving
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /?handwe?v??/
Adjective
handwaving (comparative more handwaving, superlative most handwaving)
- (not comparable) Waving the hands.
- Pertaining to empty gesturing, with little substance behind it; vague.
- 2001, Jeffrey Kluger, ‘Obesity’, Time, 15 Jan 2001:
- For years much of this has been explained with hand-waving references to body types and metabolism -- broadly accurate, but cold comfort to the estimated 61% of Americans who are overweight or obese and want to have their weight controlled, not merely explained.
- 2001, Jeffrey Kluger, ‘Obesity’, Time, 15 Jan 2001:
Translations
Noun
handwaving (countable and uncountable, plural handwavings)
- (chiefly figuratively) Frantic or conspicuous gesturing (during an argument etc.), especially as contrasted with a lack of underlying substance or meaning; empty gesturing.
- 2000, Time, letter, 21 Aug 2000:
- Protesters who demand that this brilliantly humane enterprise be stopped should have their motives questioned. Their protest is nothing but the mindless hand waving of Luddites.
- 2009, ‘Squid Business’, The Economist, 3 Nov 2009:
- McClatchy goes on to try and level a damning critique, which amounts to a lot of handwaving about things we already know.
- 2011, Andrew Brown, The Guardian, 17 Jun 2011:
- So when we're discussing thought and conscious processes, talking about minds is precise, and even measurable (what else do public opinion pollsters do?) while talking about brains is just hand-waving.
- 2000, Time, letter, 21 Aug 2000:
Translations
Verb
handwaving
- present participle of handwave
handwaving From the web:
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