ill-defined
adjective
: not easy to see or understand
The property's borders are ill-defined.
an ill-defined mission
Examples of ill-defined in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
His strategy for dealing with China is also very ill-defined.
—
Michael McFaul, Wired News, 31 Dec. 2025
Their relationship, however, is complicated and ill-defined.
—Sandra Gonzalez, CNN Money, 5 Dec. 2025
The campaign has even drawn criticism from advocates of the War on Terror, a similarly sprawling and ill-defined military campaign that stretched the limits of executive power.
—Richard Hall, Time, 28 Oct. 2025
However, when intentions were ill-defined or assumed (sometimes based on hegemonic, often Christian, power dynamics), conversations about religious differences devolved from uncomfortable to hostile and even harmful.
—Matthew Mayhew, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Worn with the wrong pieces, the look can seem messy or ill-defined.
—René Chávez Esparza, Glamour, 17 June 2025
The choices facing Matty and Olympia at the end of the finale seemed ill-defined, as did the stakes.
—Noel Murray, Vulture, 18 Apr. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Ill-defined.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ill-defined. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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