Logo - Feel The Words

Vague Quotes

When unclear is exactly clear enough.

These vague quotes show that not knowing exactly what you want can still be useful, whether it is a cloudy idea turning into 100,000 words or a St. Patrick's Day memory that stays fond despite the haze.

For though we often need to be restored to the small, concrete, limited, and certain, we as often need to be reminded of the large, vague, unlimited, unknown.

Quotes by A. R. Ammons

You have to have an idea of what you are going to do, but it should be a vague idea.

Pablo Picasso

When I have an idea, it goes from vague, cloudy notion to 100,000 words in a heartbeat.

Quotes by Lynn Abbey

I have a lot of fond memories of St. Patrick's Day in Chicago. Vague, but fond.

Quotes by Joel Murray

Ambiguity Quotes

Usually it is uses of words, not words in themselves, that are properly called vague.

Quotes by J. L. Austin

For parlor use, the vague generality is a life saver.

Quotes by George Ade

All the evolution we know of proceeds from the vague to the definite.

Quotes by Charles Sanders Peirce

Leia follows me like a vague smell.

Quotes by Carrie Fisher

During the campaign for re-election, Barack Obama at least made vague references to a willingness to accept $3 trillion of reduced spending in exchange for a $1 trillion dollar tax increase.

Quotes by Bob Beauprez

Confusion Quotes

The pious pretense that evil does not exist only makes it vague, enormous and menacing.

Quotes by Aleister Crowley

I have a very vague surface level awareness of Metallica.

Quotes by Alaska

Frequently Asked Questions

What connects the quotes on the Vague page?
Each one deals with uncertainty or unclear thought, whether it is a hazy childhood memory, an idea still forming, or a linguistic point about words themselves being vague.
Why would someone look up vague quotes?
People often search for ways to describe half-formed ideas or fuzzy memories, and these quotes capture that in-between state honestly rather than forcing false clarity.
Is being vague treated as a flaw here?
Not entirely. One quote argues an idea should stay vague at first, suggesting some ambiguity is actually useful before a plan takes final shape.
What does the linguistics quote add to the page?
It shifts the focus from feelings to language, pointing out that vagueness often comes from how words are used rather than the words themselves.
Is there a page for related emotional uncertainty?
Yes, the Mystery quotes page explores a similar mood of not-quite-knowing, just from a different angle.

For related thoughts on unclear language, see Ambiguity quotes, and for the feelings vagueness often stirs up, browse Mystery quotes.