imprecise

imprecise — adjective

1. not giving or having enough detail or exactness, so that the information or resu

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

not giving or having enough detail or exactness, so that the information or result may not be fully reliable or clear

Example

The weather forecast was too imprecise to tell us whether to bring an umbrella.

too + adjective + to-infinitive for insufficient precision

His imprecise description of the suspect made it hard for the police to identify him.

adjective used attributively before a noun: imprecise description

Common collocations
  • imprecise measurement
  • imprecise estimate
  • imprecise language
  • imprecise description
  • imprecise definition
  • imprecise wording
  • imprecise calculation
Synonyms
  • vague

    suggests a lack of clear boundaries or definition; vagueness often comes from missing essential information, whereas imprecise implies the information exists but is not fine-grained enough

  • inexact

    the mildest and most neutral synonym; simply acknowledges that something is not perfectly accurate, without implying it is unusable

  • inaccurate

    stronger than imprecise — means wrong or incorrect, not just lacking detail

  • ambiguous

    focuses on the possibility of more than one interpretation, while imprecise focuses on a lack of exactness

Antonyms
  • precise

    exact and accurate in every detail

  • exact

    correct in every detail, perfectly matching the facts or true value

  • accurate

    correct in all details, free from error

Grammar Patterns

imprecise + noun

be + imprecise

imprecise about + noun / wh-clause

Usage Note

Frequently describes measurements, estimates, language, descriptions, and calculations in academic, technical, or formal contexts. The opposite is precise — imprecise information may be roughly correct but lacks the level of detail needed for a specific purpose.

Common Mistakes

His estimate was inaccurate by about 10%' (when the estimate was roughly correct but not exact).
His estimate was imprecise
he could only say it was somewhere between 100 and 150.' — 'inaccurate' means completely wrong; 'imprecise' means not exact or detailed enough.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Although imprecise, vague, inexact, inaccurate, and ambiguous all describe some form of insufficient clarity, they differ in what kind of insufficiency they emphasize. Imprecise means lacking the necessary exactness or detail — the information may be roughly correct but is not fine-grained enough (e.g., a budget estimate of 'between 50,000 and 500,000 dollars'). Vague suggests that essential information is missing or poorly defined, leaving the listener without a clear picture. Inexact is the mildest and most neutral synonym, simply acknowledging that perfect precision is absent — often used in scientific contexts where some tolerance is expected. Inaccurate carries a stronger negative charge: it means wrong or incorrect, not just lacking detail. Ambiguous focuses on multiple possible interpretations rather than insufficient detail. For example: a description can be imprecise (not detailed enough) without being inaccurate (wrong); it can be ambiguous (open to two readings) without being vague (it might be very specific in both possible meanings).

vague ↗inexactinaccurate ↗ambiguous ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • imprecise measurement
  • imprecise estimate
  • imprecise language
  • imprecise description
  • imprecise definition
  • imprecise wording
  • imprecise calculation
  • imprecise data
  • imprecise figures
  • imprecise instructions

Adverbs

  • deliberately imprecise
  • somewhat imprecise
  • wilfully imprecise
  • notoriously imprecise
  • hopelessly imprecise

Phrases

  • imprecise at best
  • far too imprecise

Prepositions

  • imprecise about

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Imprecise was formed in Modern English by adding the negative prefix im- (a variant of in- before p) to the adjective precise. Precise entered English from French précis, which came from Latin praecisus, meaning 'cut off' or 'shortened ahead of time,' from the verb praecīdere (to cut off in front), a combination of prae- ('before') and caedere ('to cut'). Over time the meaning of precise shifted from 'cut short' to 'limited in scope' and then to 'clearly defined or exact.' Attaching im- reversed the meaning to create 'not exact.'