indefinite
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.lasting for an unknown amount of time, or until someone decides to stop it.
adj.lasting for an unknown or unstated length of time; not having a fixed end point.
Simple“The workers went on an indefinite strike until their pay was increased.”
In context“The government announced an indefinite suspension of the peace talks, citing a complete breakdown in communication between the two delegations.”
Synonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.not clear or not exact in meaning.
adj.not clearly defined or determined; vague or ambiguous in nature.
Simple“She gave an indefinite answer because she wasn't sure what she wanted to do.”
In context“The boundaries of the new district remained indefinite, leading to several legal disputes between neighbouring municipalities.”
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
adj.used to describe words like 'a', 'an', or 'some' that do not point to one specific person or thing.
adj.designating an unidentified or non-specific person, thing, or quantity.
Simple“In the sentence 'I saw a cat', 'a' is an indefinite article.”
In context“The student struggled to distinguish between definite and indefinite pronouns when translating complex sentences from their native language.”
UsageCommonly used in the terms 'indefinite article' or 'indefinite pronoun'.
Synonymsnon specificAntonyms - 04 C2 Proficiency
adj.used in math to describe a calculation that does not have specific start and end numbers.
adj.relating to an integral without specified limits of integration.
Simple“The teacher asked the class to solve an indefinite integral for homework.”
In context“The calculus exam required students to derive several indefinite integrals before moving on to applied physics problems.”
- 05 C2 Proficiency
n.a word that does not refer to a specific person or thing.
n.a linguistic element, such as a pronoun or article, that does not specify a particular referent.
Simple“Words like 'anybody' and 'someone' are examples of indefinites.”
In context“The linguist argued that the use of indefinites in the witness's testimony suggested a lack of certainty regarding the suspect's identity.”
“These include many carers who came to the UK to fill vacancies after the Covid pandemic, and were told they could apply for indefinite leave to remain after five years.”
From Late Latin indēfīnītus. Morphologically in- + definite.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.