indistinct

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: in=dis=tinct

CIDE DICTIONARY

indistinct, a. [L. indistinctus: cf. F. indistinct. See In- not, and Distinct.].

•  Not distinct or distinguishable; not separate in such a manner as to be perceptible by itself; as, the indistinct parts of a substance.  Shak.  [1913 Webster]
•  Obscure to the mind or senses; not clear; not definite; confused; imperfect; faint; as, indistinct vision; an indistinct sound; an indistinct idea or recollection.  [1913 Webster]

  "When we come to parts too small four our senses, our ideas of these little bodies become obscure and indistinct."  [1913 Webster]

  "Their views, indeed, are indistinct and dim."

Syn. -- Undefined; indistinguishable; obscure; indefinite; vague; ambiguous; uncertain; confused.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

indistinct, adj.
1 not distinct.
2 confused, obscure.

Derivative

indistinctly adv. indistinctness n.

Etymology

ME f. L indistinctus (as IN-(1), DISTINCT)

THESAURUS

indistinct

aleatoric, aleatory, alike, ambiguous, amorphous, barely audible, blear, bleared, bleary, blind, blobby, blurred, blurry, breathy, broad, chance, chancy, chaotic, choked, choking, clear as mud, cloudy, confused, croaking, dark, decrescendo, dim, disordered, distant, drawling, drawly, dysphonic, equivocal, faint, faint-voiced, feeble, filmy, foggy, fuzzy, general, gentle, guttural, half-heard, half-seen, half-visible, harsh, hawking, hazy, hit-or-miss, hoarse, ill-defined, illegible, imprecise, inaccurate, inarticulate, inchoate, incoherent, inconspicuous, indecisive, indefinable, indefinite, indeterminable, indeterminate, indiscernible, indistinctive, indistinguishable, inexact, inseparable, interchangeable, lax, lisping, loose, low, low-profile, merely glimpsed, mispronounced, misty, muddy, muffled, murky, murmured, muzzy, nasal, nebulous, nonspecific, obscure, opaque, orderless, out of focus, pale, pianissimo, piano, quavering, random, scarcely heard, semivisible, shadowed forth, shadowy, shaking, shaky, shapeless, snuffling, soft, soft-sounding, soft-voiced, standard, stereotyped, stifled, stochastic, strangled, subaudible, subdued, sweeping, thick, throaty, transcendent, tremulous, twangy, uncertain, unclear, undefined, undestined, undetermined, undifferentiated, undiscriminated, undistinguishable, undistinguished, uniform, unintelligible, unplain, unrecognizable, unspecified, vague, veiled, velar, weak, weak-voiced, whispered, without distinction

ROGET THESAURUS

indistinct

Invisibility

N invisibility, invisibleness, nonappearance, imperceptibility, indistinctness, mystery, delitescence, concealment, latency, invisible, imperceptible, undiscernible, indiscernible, unapparent, non-apparent, out of sight, not in sight, a perte de vue, behind the scenes, behind the curtain, viewless, sightless, inconspicuous, unconspicuous, unseen &c (see), covert, eclipsed, under an eclipse, dim, mysterious, dark, obscure, confused, indistinct, indistinguishable, shadowy, indefinite, undefined, ill- defined, ill-marked, blurred, fuzzy, out of focus, misty, delitescent, hidden, obscured, covered, veiled (concealed), full many a flower is born to blush unseen.