How to Use ill-defined in a Sentence

ill-defined

adjective
  • But together—at least at this stage—the group’s synthesis is ill-defined.
    — Dylan Green, Pitchfork, 12 Mar. 2026
  • Researchers called the terms ill-defined and said they aren’t used in international counterterrorism work.
    — Hannah Allam, ProPublica, 14 May 2026
  • By Monday morning, Israeli politicians from across the spectrum were already slamming the deal, despite the fact that its details remain largely ill-defined.
    — Matt Bradley, NBC news, 15 June 2026
  • Their relationship, however, is complicated and ill-defined.
    — Sandra Gonzalez, CNN Money, 5 Dec. 2025
  • The campaign has even drawn criticism from advocates of the War on Terror, a similarly sprawling and ill-defined military campaign that stretched the limits of executive power.
    — Richard Hall, Time, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Nothing was said or done in the roughly 35 minutes the candidates devoted to themselves that seemed likely to change the dynamic or trajectory of a race that remains stubbornly ill-defined and, to an unprecedented degree in modern times, wide open.
    — Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2026
  • Nothing was said or done in the roughly 35 minutes the candidates devoted to themselves that seemed likely to change the dynamic or trajectory of a race that remains stubbornly ill-defined and, to an unprecedented degree in modern times, wide open.
    — Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2026
  • However, when intentions were ill-defined or assumed (sometimes based on hegemonic, often Christian, power dynamics), conversations about religious differences devolved from uncomfortable to hostile and even harmful.
    — Matthew Mayhew, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ill-defined.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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