imprecise
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- imprecisely adverb
- impreciseness noun
- imprecision noun
Etymology
Origin of imprecise
Explanation
If you’re being imprecise, you’re not being exact. If you try to draw a perfect circle with your eyes closed, your drawing will probably be imprecise. One field where imprecise measurements can turn out to be troublesome is cooking. If you add an imprecise amount of flour into pizza dough, you will either get a crumbly, floury mess that won't stick together, or a big, gooey glob of dough that you can't roll out into a flat crust. Either way, your pizza will not turn out very well, and you might want to remeasure or order from the local pizza place!
Vocabulary lists containing imprecise
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Way Off: Synonyms for "Wrong"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The microbe, Methanosarcina acetivorans, appears to function normally despite this flexible interpretation, demonstrating that life can operate with a slightly imprecise code.
From Science Daily • Feb. 28, 2026
Pepin-Neff adds that broad, imprecise language around encounters is likely fuelling fears and distorting people's understanding of the risk.
From BBC • Jan. 23, 2026
Other options companies have explored include training on synthetic data and through simulations, which provide an easier way to scale but can offer more imprecise results.
From MarketWatch • Dec. 27, 2025
Government-mandated financial disclosures are imprecise, and sometimes only provide a general range for the value of holdings or income they generate.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025
Hoving has talked to many art experts whom he calls fakebusters, and they all describe the act of getting at the truth of a work of art as an extraordinarily imprecise process.
From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
