nebulous
adjective
Josef WoodardW. R. LaFave & J. H. Israel
Did you know?
Nebulous may sound other-worldly—after all, it’s related to nebula, which refers to a distant galaxy or an interstellar cloud of gas or dust—but its mysteriousness is rooted in more earthly unknowns. Both words ultimately come from Latin nebula, meaning “mist, cloud,” and as far back as the 14th century nebulous could mean simply “cloudy” or “foggy.” Nebulous has since the late 17th century been the adjective correlating to nebula (as in “nebulous gas”), but the word is more familiar in its figurative use, where it describes things that are indistinct or vague, as when Jack London wrote of “ideas that were nebulous at best and that in reality were remembered sensations.”
Examples of nebulous in a Sentence
Keith Cooper, Space.com, 16 Mar. 2025
The main thrust of World Beyond is to provide context for the nebulous Civic Republic Military (CRM) — which spirited our beloved Rick early in season 9 — as well as insight about where the ex-sheriff is now.
—Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 14 Mar. 2025
Slower payment terms are something that happens in that nebulous space between what’s written on a contract, the commercial realities of the market and the business relationships involved.
—Evan Clark, WWD, 13 Mar. 2025
The parameters of free speech, however, were still nebulous and untested.
—Marianne Holdzkom, The Conversation, 12 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nebulous
Cite this Entry
“Nebulous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nebulous. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.
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nebulous
adjective
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