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Vague vs Coax - What's the difference?

vague | coax |

As verbs the difference between vague and coax

is that vague is while coax is (obsolete) to fondle, kid, pet, tease.

As a noun coax is

(obsolete) a simpleton; a dupe or coax can be .

vague

English

Adjective

(er)
  • Not clearly expressed; stated in indefinite terms.
  • *
  • *2004: , Character: Profiles in Presidential Courage
  • *:Throughout the first week of his presidency, Dulles and Bissell continued to brief Kennedy on their strategy for Cuba, but the men were vague and their meetings offered little in the way of hard facts.
  • Not having a precise meaning.
  • :
  • Not clearly defined, grasped, or understood; indistinct; slight.
  • :
  • Not clearly felt or sensed; somewhat subconscious.
  • :
  • Not thinking or expressing one’s thoughts clearly or precisely.
  • Lacking expression; vacant.
  • Not sharply outlined; hazy.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Michael Arlen), title= “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days, chapter=Ep./1/2
  • , passage=He walked. To the corner of Hamilton Place and Picadilly, and there stayed for a while, for it is a romantic station by night. The vague and careless rain looked like threads of gossamer silver passing across the light of the arc-lamps.}}
  • Wandering; vagrant; vagabond.
  • *Sir (c.1564-1627)
  • *:to set upon the vague villains
  • *(John Keats) (1795-1821)
  • *:She danced along with vague , regardless eyes.
  • Synonyms

    * obscure * ambiguous

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (obsolete) A wandering; a vagary.
  • (Holinshed)
  • An indefinite expanse.
  • * Lowell
  • The gray vague of unsympathizing sea.

    Verb

    (vagu)
  • To wander; to roam; to stray.
  • * Holland
  • [The soul] doth vague and wander.

    coax

    English

    Etymology 1

    originally (1586) in the slang phrase to make a coax of , from earlier noun coax, cox, cokes "fool, simpleton", itself of obscure origin, perhaps related to cock (male bird, pert boy). The modern spelling is from 1706.

    Verb

  • (obsolete) To fondle, kid, pet, tease.
  • To wheedle, persuade (a person, organisation, animal etc.) gradually or by use of flattery to do something.
  • * , chapter=6
  • , title= Mr. Pratt's Patients , passage=She was so mad she wouldn't speak to me for quite a spell, but at last I coaxed her into going up to Miss Emmeline's room and fetching down a tintype of the missing Deacon man.}}
  • * 12 July 2012 , Sam Adams, AV Club Ice Age: Continental Drift
  • On paper, Continental Drift boasts a jaw-dropping voice cast, including but not limited to Jennifer Lopez, Patrick Stewart, Wanda Sykes, Aziz Ansari, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Nicki Minaj, Drake, and Alan Tudyk. But in practice, the overstuffed ensemble leaves the cast no room to distinguish themselves, and directors Steve Martino and Michael Thurmeier don’t seem interested in coaxing performances that might render their money stars less identifiable.
  • To carefully manipulate into a particular desired state, situation or position.
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=(Henry Petroski)
  • , title= Geothermal Energy , volume=101, issue=4, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Energy has seldom been found where we need it when we want it. Ancient nomads, wishing to ward off the evening chill and enjoy a meal around a campfire, had to collect wood and then spend time and effort coaxing the heat of friction out from between sticks to kindle a flame.}}
    Synonyms
    * (persuade gradually) cajole, persuade, wheedle * (manipulate carefully into position) ease

    Noun

    (es)
  • (obsolete) A simpleton; a dupe.
  • (Beaumont and Fletcher)

    Etymology 2

    Shortened from coaxial

    Noun

    (coaxial cable) (es)
  • References

    * [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=coax&searchmode=none]

    Anagrams

    * English heteronyms ----