7 results for: indefinite Browse Nearby Entries
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
in·def·i·nite    Audio Help   [in-def-uh-nit] Pronunciation Key
–adjective
1.not definite; without fixed or specified limit; unlimited: an indefinite number.
2.not clearly defined or determined; not precise or exact: an indefinite boundary; an indefinite date in the future.
3.Grammar.
a.indefinite article.
b.indefinite pronoun.
4.Botany.
a.very numerous or not easily counted, as stamens.
b.(of an inflorescence) indeterminate.

[Origin: 1520–30; < L indéfīnītus. See in-3, definite]

in·def·i·nite·ly, adverb
in·def·i·nite·ness, noun

1. unspecified; indeterminate. 2. imprecise, inexact, indistinct, confusing, vague, uncertain.
1, 2. determinate. 2. clear, specific.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
indefinite

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
in·def·i·nite    Audio Help   (ĭn-děf'ə-nĭt)  Pronunciation Key 
adj.   Not definite, especially:
a. Unclear; vague.

in·def'i·nite·ly adv., in·def'i·nite·ness n.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
indefinite 
1530, from L. indefinitus, from in- "not" + definitus (see definite).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
indefinite

adjective
1. vague or not clearly defined or stated; "must you be so indefinite?"; "amorphous blots of color having vague and indefinite edges"; "he would not answer so indefinite a proposal" [ant: definite
2. not decided or not known; "were indefinite about their plans"; "plans are indefinite" 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
indefinite1 [inˈdefinit] adjective
not fixed or exact; without clearly marked outlines or limits
Example: She invited her mother to stay for an indefinite length of time.
Arabic: غَيْر مَحْدود، غَيْر مُحَدَّد
Chinese (Simplified): 不确定的
Chinese (Traditional): 不確定的
Czech: neurčitý
Danish: ubestemt; ubegrænset
Dutch: onbepaald
Estonian: määramata
Finnish: epämääräinen
French: indéterminé
German: unbegrenzt
Greek: αόριστος, ακαθόριστος
Hungarian: határozatlan
Icelandic: óákveðinn
Indonesian: tidak pasti
Italian: indeterminato
Japanese: 不定の
Korean: 불명확한, 불분명한
Latvian: nenoteikts
Lithuanian: neapibrėžtas
Norwegian: ubestemt, endeløs
Polish: nieokreślony
Portuguese (Brazil): indefinido
Portuguese (Portugal): indefinido
Romanian: neprecizat
Russian: неопределённый
Slovak: neurčitý, neobmedzený
Slovenian: nedoločen
Spanish: indefinido
Swedish: obestämd
Turkish: belirsiz
indefinite2 [inˈdefinit] adjective
vague; uncertain
Example: His plans are indefinite at the moment.
Arabic: مُبْهَم ،غَيْر واضِح، غَيْر مُؤَكَّد
Chinese (Simplified): 不明确的
Chinese (Traditional): 不明確的
Czech: nejasný, mlhavý
Danish: ikke nærmere bestemt
Dutch: onzeker
Estonian: ebamäärane
Finnish: epämääräinen
French: indéfini
German: unbestimmt
Greek: αόριστος, ασαφής
Hungarian: bizonytalan
Icelandic: óljós
Indonesian: samar-samar
Italian: indefinito
Japanese: 不明瞭な
Korean: 막연한
Latvian: neskaidrs
Lithuanian: miglotas, neaiškus
Norwegian: ubestemt, utydelig
Polish: niesprecyzowany
Portuguese (Brazil): indefinido
Portuguese (Portugal): indefinido
Romanian: vag
Russian: неопределённый
Slovak: nejasný
Slovenian: nejasen
Spanish: indefinido
Swedish: vag
Turkish: kesin olmayan
See also: indefinitely

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Indefinite

In*def"i*nite\, a. [L. indefinitus. See In- not, and Definite.]

1. Not definite; not limited, defined, or specified; not explicit; not determined or fixed upon; not precise; uncertain; vague; confused; obscure; as, an indefinite time, plan, etc.

It were to be wished that . . . men would leave off that indefinite way of vouching, "the chymists say this," or "the chymists affirm that." --Boyle.

The time of this last is left indefinite. --Dryden.

2. Having no determined or certain limits; large and unmeasured, though not infinite; unlimited; as indefinite space; the indefinite extension of a straight line.

Though it is not infinite, it may be indefinite; though it is not boundless in itself, it may be so to human comprehension. --Spectator.

3. Boundless; infinite. [R.]

Indefinite and omnipresent God, Inhabiting eternity. --W. Thompson (1745).

4. (Bot.) Too numerous or variable to make a particular enumeration important; -- said of the parts of a flower, and the like. Also, indeterminate.

Indefinite article (Gram.), the word a or an, used with nouns to denote any one of a common or general class.

Indefinite inflorescence. (Bot.) See Indeterminate inflorescence, under Indeterminate.

Indefinite proposition (Logic), a statement whose subject is a common term, with nothing to indicate distribution or nondistribution; as, Man is mortal.

Indefinite term (Logic), a negative term; as, the not-good.

Syn: Inexplicit; vague; uncertain; unsettled; indeterminate; loose; equivocal; inexact; approximate.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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