Uncertain Things: Words at Play

I've been trying to punch up my writing with better words. Recently, I broke out my dictionary and found some new favorite words to communicate uncertainty.

Blame It On The Weather^[1]

My favorite type of uncertain words are the ones related to weather and natural phenomena. I feel like they generally communicate uncertainty via a lack of visual clarity or fidelity.

Hazy reminds me of a smoky, summer afternoon.^[2]

Misty feels akin to hazy, except cooler, wetter, and in the morning.^[3][4]

Foggy evokes either:

• Driving down nighttime country highways, distant taillights guiding the way.
• A foggy bog or marsh, perhaps with a dash of something mystical, or maybe a detective looking for clues.

Murky reminds me of summertime feet in cool, clear water and the moment right before kicking up sand and debris.

Words within the grasp of ordinary minds

This grouping of words was my favorite to learn about.

An arcane thing is something understood by very few. An esoteric thing is something that's understood by very few, by design -- the information is meant for those in the know. Recondite, a wonderful word that I have no reason to use, means "beyond the grasp of the ordinary mind"; it's a word that's perfect for Professor X's business cards: The Professor X School of Recondite Studies.

An enigmatic message perplexes; a cryptic message perplexes on purpose.

An ambiguous response allows for more than one interpretation; an equivocal response allows for more than one interpretation as a means of intentionally confusing or misleading.

Andromeda and the Milky Way^[5]

These words feel uncertain because they have borders that are not crisp.

Nebulous is my favorite word of the bunch. It makes me think of a literal nebula -- something with an edge that's comprehensible from a distance, and less so upon closer examination.

Imprecise has connotations of science and measurements... I like that if you call something imprecise, it suggests that thing could, in fact, be precise, which has a lot of utility. e.g. "Alex said they were sorry for the offense, but that was imprecise; the offense was intended, the accompanying hurt was not."

Unclear has a lot of utility, for what it lacks in flair (as far as words go).

I probably overuse vague. Anyone who knows me well can likely imagine me squinting my eyes and saying "It's vaguely..."

Indistinct could be a good replacement word for unclear or vague, in some cases. Plus, there are a lot of good consonants in indistinct.

Knowledge Work

These 5 words explore uncertainty as levels of understanding.

Obscure can indicate:

• a visual concealment/lack of distinction,
• something not easily understood,
• something not well known.

Unknown, is straightforward enough.

Something unsure could be on the right track, but maybe not.

Debatable feels closer to certainty than unsure, but could still be argued away.

Doubtful, in a way, is the most certain of these words; something doubtful is almost certainly wrong.