indefinite

• POS: Adjective
• HYPHEN: in=def=i=nite

CIDE DICTIONARY

indefinite, a. [L. indefinitus. See In- not, and Definite.].

•  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.  [1913 Webster]

  "It were to be wished that . . . men would leave off that indefinite way of vouching, “the chymists say this,” or “the chymists affirm that.”"  [1913 Webster]

  "The time of this last is left indefinite."  [1913 Webster]
•  Having no determined or certain limits; large and unmeasured, though not infinite; unlimited; as, indefinite space; the indefinite extension of a straight line.  [1913 Webster]

  "Though it is not infinite, it may be indefinite; though it is not boundless in itself, it may be so to human comprehension."  [1913 Webster]
•  Boundless; infinite.  [1913 Webster]

  "Indefinite and omnipresent God,
  Inhabiting eternity."  [1913 Webster]
•  Too numerous or variable to make a particular enumeration important; -- said of the parts of a flower, and the like. Also, indeterminate.  [1913 Webster]

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.

OXFORD DICTIONARY

indefinite, adj.
1 vague, undefined.
2 unlimited.
3 Gram. not determining the person, thing, time, etc., referred to.

Idiom

indefinite article see ARTICLE. indefinite integral see INTEGRAL. indefinite pronoun Gram. a pronoun indicating a person, amount, etc., without being definite or particular, e.g. any, some, anyone.

Derivative

indefiniteness n.

Etymology

L indefinitus (as IN-(1), DEFINITE)

THESAURUS

indefinite

abstract, aleatoric, aleatory, ambiguous, amorphic, amorphous, anarchic, baffling, baggy, bewildering, bland, blear, bleared, bleary, blobby, blurred, blurry, boundless, broad, chance, chancy, chaotic, characterless, collective, confused, confusing, cryptic, dark, dim, disordered, disorderly, endless, enduring, equivocal, faint, featureless, feeble, filmy, foggy, formless, fuzzy, general, generalized, generic, half-seen, half-visible, hazy, hesitant, hit-or-miss, ill-defined, immeasurable, imprecise, inaccurate, incalculable, inchoate, incoherent, inconspicuous, inconstant, indecisive, indefinable, indelible, indestructible, indeterminable, indeterminate, indistinct, indistinguishable, ineffaceable, ineradicable, inexact, inexplicit, infinite, inform, kaleidoscopic, lax, limitless, loose, low-profile, lumpen, measureless, merely glimpsed, misty, mystifying, nebulous, neutral, nondescript, nonspecific, obscure, orderless, out of focus, pale, permanent, puzzling, random, semivisible, shadowed forth, shadowy, shapeless, shilly-shallying, stochastic, sub judice, sweeping, unbounded, uncertain, uncharacterized, unclear, uncountable, uncounted, undecided, undefinable, undefined, undestined, undestroyable, undetermined, undifferentiated, unerasable, unfixed, unknown, unlimited, unmeasured, unordered, unorganized, unplain, unrecognizable, unsettled, unspecific, unspecified, unsure, vacillating, vague, veiled, wavering, weak, wide, wishy-washy

ROGET THESAURUS

indefinite

Infinity

N infinity, infinitude, infiniteness, perpetuity, boundlessness, infinite, immense, numberless, countless, sumless, measureless, innumerable, immeasurable, incalculable, illimitable, inexhaustible, interminable, unfathomable, unapproachable, exhaustless, indefinite, without number, without measure, without limit, without end, incomprehensible, limitless, endless, boundless, termless, untold, unnumbered, unmeasured, unbounded, unlimited, illimited, perpetual, infinitely, ad infinitum, as boundless as the sea.

Different time

N different time, other time, aorist, aoristic, indefinite, at that time, at which time, at that moment, at that instant, then, on that occasion, upon, not now, some other time, when, whenever, whensoever, upon which, on which occasion, at another time, at a different time, at some other time, at any time, at various times, some one of these days, one of these days, one fine morning, eventually, some day, by and by, sooner or later, some time or other, once upon a time.

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.

Uncertainty

N uncertainty, incertitude, doubt, doubtfulness, dubiety, dubitation, dubitancy, dubitousness, hesitation, suspense, perplexity, embarrassment, dilemma, bewilderment, timidity, vacillation, diaporesis, indetermination, vagueness, haze, fog, obscurity, ambiguity, contingency, dependence, dependency, double contingency, possibility upon a possibility, open question, onus probandi, blind bargain, pig in a poke, leap in the dark, something or other, needle in a haystack, needle in a bottle of hay, roving commission, precariousness, fallibility, uncertain, casual, random, changeable, doubtful, dubious, indecisive, unsettled, undecided, undetermined, in suspense, open to discussion, controvertible, in question, vague, indeterminate, indefinite, ambiguous, equivocal, undefined, undefinable, confused, mystic, oracular, dazed, perplexing, enigmatic, paradoxical, apocryphal, problematical, hypothetical, experimental, unpredictable, unforeseeable (unknowable), fallible, questionable, precarious, slippery, ticklish, debatable, disputable, unreliable, untrustworthy, contingent, contingent on, dependent on, subject to, dependent on circumstances, occasional, provisional, unauthentic, unauthenticated, unauthoritative, unascertained, unconfirmed, undemonstrated, untold, uncounted, in a state of uncertainty, in a cloud, in a maze, bushed, off the track, ignorant, afraid to say, out of one's reckoning, astray, adrift, at sea, at fault, at a loss, at one's wit's end, at a nonplus, puzzled, lost, abroad, d_esorient_e, distracted, distraught, pendente lite, sub spe rati, Heaven knows, who can tell? who shall decide when doctors disagr.

Error

N error, fallacy, misconception, misapprehension, misstanding, misunderstanding, inexactness, laxity, misconstruction, miscomputation, non sequitur, mis-statement, mis-report, mumpsimus, mistake, miss, fault, blunder, quiproquo, cross purposes, oversight, misprint, erratum, corrigendum, slip, blot, flaw, loose thread, trip, stumble, botchery, slip of the tongue, slip of the lip, Freudian slip, slip of the pen, lapsus linguae, clerical error, bull, haplography, illusion, delusion, snare, false impression, false idea, bubble, self-decit, self-deception, mists of error, heresy, hallucination, false light, dream, fable, bias, misleading, erroneous, untrue, false, devoid of truth, fallacious, apocryphal, unreal, ungrounded, groundless, unsubstantial, heretical, unsound, illogical, inexact, unexact inaccurate, incorrect, indefinite, illusive, illusory, delusive, mock, ideal, spurious, deceitful, perverted, controvertible, unsustainable, unauthenticated, untrustworthy, exploded, refuted, discarded, in error, under an error, mistaken, tripping, out, out in one's reckoning, aberrant, beside the mark, wide of the mark, wide of the truth, way off, far off, astray, on a false scent, on the wrong scent, in the wrong box, outside the ballpark, at cross purposes, all in the wrong, all out, more or less, errare est humanum, mentis gratissimus error, on the dubious waves of error tost, to err is human, to forgive divine, you lie -- under a mistake.

Unintelligibility

N unintelligibility, incomprehensibility, imperspicuity, inconceivableness, vagueness, obscurity, ambiguity, doubtful meaning, uncertainty, perplexity, spinosity, obscurum per obscurius, mystification, latency, transcendentalism, paradox, oxymoron, riddle, enigma, puzzle, diagnus vindice nodus, sealed book, steganography, freemasonry, pons asinorum, asses' bridge, high Dutch, Greek, Hebrew, jargon, unintelligible, unaccountable, undecipherable, undiscoverable, unknowable, unfathomable, incognizable, inexplicable, inscrutable, inapprehensible, incomprehensible, insolvable, insoluble, impenetrable, illegible, as Greek to one, unexplained, paradoxical, enigmatic, enigmatical, puzzling (secret), indecipherable, obscure, dark, muddy, clear as mud, seen through a mist, dim, nebulous, shrouded in mystery, opaque, dense, undiscernible, misty, hidden, latent, indefinite, garbled, perplexed, undetermined, vague, loose, ambiguous, mysterious, mystic, mystical, acroamatic, acroamatical, metempirical, transcendental, occult, recondite, abstruse, crabbed, inconceivable, inconceptible, searchless, above comprehension, beyond comprehension, past comprehension, beyond one's depth, unconceived, inexpressible, undefinable, incommunicable, unpredictable, unforeseeable, it's Greek to me.