vaguen · verb — to make (something) vague or more vague; to blur, to obscure. It carries an Arena rating of 1624, earned across 8 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, vaguen ranks #1,982 of 17,205 for The Improbable, #3,107 of 17,171 for Scariest Words, #3,249 of 17,187 for Most Malleable Words, #3,291 of 17,163 for Most Sublime Words.
vaguen is pronounced /ˈveɪɡən/.
Why “vaguen” is a great word
To render something less distinct or precise; to blur its edges and soften its definition. From vague (“not clearly expressed or defined”) and the suffix -en (forming transitive verbs meaning ‘to make [adjective]’), coined by Samuel Beckett, apparently first in a 1961 manuscript note for his play Happy Days. Unlike “obfuscate,” which deliberately muddies to deceive, or “clarify,” which strives for lucidity, “vaguen” is the act of purposeful erosion, a withdrawal into the indistinct. It is the slow dissolving of a memory’s sharp contours, the deliberate smudging of a charcoal line, the gentle clouding of a window pane with breath—a quiet, almost tender retreat from the tyranny of the definite.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From vague + -en (suffix forming transitive verbs from adjectives, meaning ‘to make [adjective]’), coined by Irish writer Samuel Beckett (1906–1989), apparently first in a manuscript note to himself on an initial typescript of his play Happy Days (1961).
verb
- To make (something) vague or more vague; to blur, to obscure.e.g.“[Rosemary] Pountney sees the term ‘vaguen’ in the play’s second typescript as ‘explicit testimony to [Samuel] Beckett’s policy of “vaguening” the later drafts of his plays’ (1988: 149).” — 1988, Rosemary Pountney, Theatre of Shadows: Samuel Beckett’s Drama 1956–76: From All that Fall to Footfalls with Commentaries on the Latest Plays (Irish Literary Studies; 28), Gerrards Cross, Bucking
- To become (more) vague; to blur.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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