ENGLISH
REFERENCE

nebulous

adj.
C1 Advanced US //ˈnɛbjəɫəs// UK //nˈɛbjʊləs// neb·u·lous

adj. not clear or easy to understand. You use this to describe ideas, plans, or feelings that are vague and hard to define.

adj. lacking a clear shape or form; vague and indistinct. Often describes abstract concepts or physical phenomena that are difficult to perceive or define precisely.


SIMPLE

The future of the company remains nebulous.

CONTEXTUAL

The artist's style is so nebulous that critics struggle to place it within any specific historical movement.

COMPLEX

While the initial goals of the project were nebulous, the final report provided a clear roadmap for the next fiscal year, much to the relief of the board members.

Synonyms
Origin

From Middle English, from Middle French nebuleus, from Latin nebulōsus (“full of mist, foggy, cloudy”), from nebula (“mist, vapour, cloud”), from Proto-Indo-European *nébʰos (“cloud, vapor, fog, moist, sky”). Cognates *Ancient Greek νέφος (néphos, “cloud”) *German Nebel **Old High German nebul (“cloud, fog”) *Old English nifol, neowol (“dark, gloomy, obscure, precipitous, prone”) by surface analysis, nebula + -ous. More at neveling, nuel.

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