Dictionary Thesaurus Word Dynamo Quotes Reference Translator Spanish

nebulous

[neb-yuh-luhs]

Origin

Nebulous www.ask.com/Nebulous Questions Nebulous Nebulous Answers

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

neb·u·lous·ly, adverb

neb·u·lous·ness, noun

non·neb·u·lous, adjective

non·neb·u·lous·ly, adverb

non·neb·u·lous·ness, noun

EXPAND

qua·si-neb·u·lous, adjective

qua·si-neb·u·lous·ly, adverb

COLLAPSE

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source

Link To Nebulous

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

00:06

00:05

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

Nebulous is an SAT word you need to know.

So is savant. Does it mean:

a person of profound or extensive learning; a learned scholar

having complete or unlimited knowledge, awareness, or understanding; perceiving all things

LEARN MORE SAT WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

Collins

World English Dictionary

nebulous (ˈnɛbjʊləs)

—*adj*
1.	lacking definite form, shape, or content; vague or amorphous: nebulous reasons
2.	of, characteristic of, or resembling a nebula
3.	rare misty or hazy

'nebulously

—*adv*

'nebulousness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

nebulous

late 14c., "cloudy, misty," from L. nebulosus "cloudy, misty, foggy," from nebula (see nebula). The fig. sense of "hazy, vague, formless" is first attested 1831.

Word Dynamo Rating For Nebulous

People who can define Nebulous may know 6,112 words.

How many words do you know?

Enjoy Dictionary.com ad-free! Learn more

Related Words

nebulosity coma

nebula nebulize

Matching Quote

"In his comprehensive delight in all experience Dickens resembles Walt Whitman, but he was innocent of that nebulous transcendentalism that blurred Whitman's universe into vast misty panoramas and left him, for all his huge democratic vistas, unable to tell a story or paint a single concrete human being."

-Edgar Johnson

Partners:Word Bloglines Citysearch The Daily Beast Ask Answers Ask Kids Life123 Sendori Thesaurus

About Privacy Policy Terms of Use API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Help