imprecise

[ im-pruh-sahys ]

adjective

1. not precise; not exact; vague or ill-defined.

imprecise

/ ˌɪmprɪˈsaɪs; ˌɪmprɪˈsɪʒən /

adjective

1. not precise; inexact or inaccurate

Derived Forms

• imprecision, noun
• ˌimpreˈcisely, adverb

Other Words From

• impre·cisely adverb
• im·pre·ci·sion [im-pr, uh, -, sizh, -, uh, n], impre·ciseness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of imprecise¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; im- ² + precise

Example Sentences

In a letter, a Securus analyst said the data were so imprecise he was unwilling to swear to its accuracy in court.

From Los Angeles Times

While Patel’s LinkedIn post told those interested in campaigning that “we will sort your housing”, it is being argued that this was imprecise language.

From BBC

I depend on a lip that is purposely imprecise, my greatest fear that it would seem I had tried.

From Los Angeles Times

The data on incidents at schools were pulled from iStar reports, which are an imprecise but useful metric.

From Los Angeles Times

The margin of error was estimated at 2 percentage points in either direction, but may be imprecise given results were weighted to match census and voter registration benchmarks.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• apocryphal
• deceptive
• distorted
• erroneous
• false
• fictitious
• inaccurate
• incorrect
• misleading
• mistaken
• specious
• spurious
• unfaithful
• unsound
• untruthful
• wrong