nebulous

[neb-yuh-luh s] /ˈnɛb yə ləs/

adjective

hazy, vague, indistinct, or confused:

a nebulous recollection of the meeting; a nebulous distinction between pride and conceit.

cloudy or cloudlike.

of or resembling a nebula or nebulae; nebular.

Origin

1375-1425; late Middle English < Latin nebulōsus full of mist, foggy, cloudy. See nebula, -ous

Related forms

nebulously, adverb

nebulousness, noun

nonnebulous, adjective

nonnebulously, adverb

nonnebulousness, noun

quasi-nebulous, adjective

quasi-nebulously, adverb

Examples from the web for nebulous

The voyage is a nebulous concept for them.
As a new business, you don't have the marketing dollars to compete against this kind of nebulous competition.
Their definitions tend to also be nebulous.
The older I get, the more nebulous the terms "logic" and "facts" become.
Perhaps thats more nebulous than a classification.
That could be one poetic similarity, if a bit nebulous.
Negotiation is another nebulous area, as it involves many independent factors to be effective.
The arguments are over the nebulous facts of a particular incident.
The more nebulous, but arguably more important, is the long-term effect on the future of trade and the world economy.
Fairness is a nebulous concept that is different for each person.

British Dictionary definitions for nebulous

nebulous

/ˈnɛbjʊləs/

adjective

lacking definite form, shape, or content; vague or amorphous: nebulous reasons

of, characteristic of, or resembling a nebula

(rare) misty or hazy

Derived Forms

nebulously, adverb
nebulousness, noun

Word Origin and History for nebulous

adj.

late 14c., "cloudy, misty," from Latin nebulosus "cloudy, misty, foggy, full of vapor," from nebula (see nebula). The figurative sense of "hazy, vague, formless" is first attested 1831. Astronomical sense is from 1670s. Related: Nebulously; nebulousness.