- nebulous
- adjective Etymology: Latin nebulosus misty, from nebula Date: 1784 1. of, relating to, or resembling a nebula ; nebular 2. indistinct, vague • nebulously adverb • nebulousness noun
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
nebulous
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nebulous — I adjective abstruse, ambiguous, bleared, blurred, blurry, clouded, cloudy, confused, dim, dusky, faint, foggy, hazy, ill defined, imperspicuous, indeterminate, indistinct, lacking clarity, nebulose, nebulosus, not clear, obfuscated, obscure, out … Law dictionary
nebulous — ► ADJECTIVE 1) in the form of a cloud or haze; hazy. 2) vague or ill defined: nebulous concepts. 3) Astronomy relating to a nebula or nebulae. DERIVATIVES nebulosity noun … English terms dictionary
Nebulous — Neb u*lous, a. [L. nebulosus: cf. F. n[ e]buleux. See {Nebula}.] 1. Cloudy; hazy; misty. [1913 Webster] 2. (Astron.) Of, pertaining to, or having the appearance of, a nebula; nebular; cloudlike. [1913 Webster] {Neb u*lous*ly}, adv. {Neb… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
nebulous — (adj.) late 14c., cloudy, misty, from L. nebulosus cloudy, misty, foggy, full of vapor, from nebula (see NEBULA (Cf. nebula)). The figurative sense of hazy, vague, formless is first attested 1831. Astronomical sense is from 1670s. Related:… … Etymology dictionary
nebulous — [adj] confused, obscure ambiguous, amorphous, cloudy, dark, dim, hazy, imprecise, indefinite, indeterminate, indistinct, misty, murky, shadowy, shapeless, uncertain, unclear, unformed, vague; concepts 535,617 Ant. apparent, definite, obvious,… … New thesaurus
nebulous — [neb′yəlōs΄neb′yə ləs] adj. [ME nebulus < L nebulosus] 1. of or like a nebula or nebulae 2. Rare cloudy; misty 3. unclear; vague; indefinite: Also nebulose [neb′yəlōs΄] nebulously adv. nebulousness n … English World dictionary
Nebulous — For other uses, see Nebulous (disambiguation). Nebulous The front cover of the first series audiobook of Nebulous, featuring (from left to right) Graham Crowden, Rosie Cavaliero, Mark Gatiss and David Warner Genre Comic science fiction, sitcom… … Wikipedia
nebulous — neb|u|lous [ˈnebjuləs] adj formal 1.) an idea that is nebulous is not at all clear or exact = ↑vague ▪ Normality is a rather nebulous concept. 2.) a shape that is nebulous is unclear and has no definite edges ▪ a nebulous ghostly figure … Dictionary of contemporary English
nebulous — adjective formal 1 an idea that is nebulous is not at all clear or exact; vague: The reasons he gave were rather nebulous. 2 a shape that is nebulous is misty and has no definite edges: a nebulous ghostly figure nebulously adverb nebulousness… … Longman dictionary of contemporary English
nebulous — [[t]ne̱bjələs[/t]] ADJ GRADED If you describe something as nebulous, you mean that it is vague and not clearly defined or not easy to describe. The notions we children were able to form of the great world beyond were exceedingly nebulous... Music … English dictionary
nebulous — nebulously, adv. nebulousness, n. /neb yeuh leuhs/, adj. 1. hazy, vague, indistinct, or confused: a nebulous recollection of the meeting; a nebulous distinction between pride and conceit. 2. cloudy or cloudlike. 3. of or resembling a nebula or… … Universalium
