Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Not strictly accurate or precise; not exact: an inexact quotation; an inexact description of what had taken place.
- adj. Not rigorous or meticulous: an inexact mind; an inexact method.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Not exact; not precisely correct, accurate, or punctual.
Wiktionary
- adj. Imperfectly conforming; exceeding or falling short in some respect.
- adj. Imprecisely or indefinitely conceived or stated
- adj. physics, of a differential having a path-dependent integral
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Not exact; not precisely correct or true; inaccurate.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. not exact
Examples
“Legend of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon = = weren't hanging at all but an inexact translation of the Greek word '' kremastos '' or the Latin word '' pensilis '', which mean not just "hanging", but "overhanging" as in the case of a terrace or balcony were described by Greek historians including Berossus and Diodorus Siculus, who apparently never saw them.”
“The guessing game over the commandante's health and influence? diplomats in Havana admit ignorance over the hermetic regime's inner workings? recalled the inexact science of Kremlinology, which tracked Politburo dynamics during Red Square parades.”
The Guardian: Cuba left guessing on Revolution Day as Fidel Castro misses big parade
“As to being "inexact," as a notator, I am as aware as the dancers, if not more so at times, of what must happen physically, motivationally and emotionally so that the choreographer's intentions are preserved in a manuscript that will inform dancers for generations to come.”
The Wall Street Journal: It's the Dance That's Complex, Not the Notation System
“The opinion of Mr. Collins is to be discussed presently, but even he thought Shakespeare's scholarship "inexact," as we shall see.”
“They quote with a certain fatuity the eulogy of Montesquieu, who says it is the only book they have; "a proposition" which Navarrete considers "inexact," and we agree with Navarrete.”
“Is it then the _results_ of Biological science which are "inexact"?”
“Now, this phrase "inexact" must refer either to the _methods_ or to the _results_ of Physiological science.”
“Now, this phrase "inexact" must refer either to the _methods_ or to the”
“In 19th-century New Zealand, where female self-expression, like civilization, is postulated as still being on the brink of formation, Ada's muteness is set forth as a kind of inexact metaphor for the repression of women -- an oddity and an encumbrance, like her enormous hoopskirts, but still a fact of life.”
“Although Fernando Perfecto, the director of the pilots 'union, has said that the company's salary figures are "inexact", his organisation has not provided its own numbers.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘inexact’.
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shestaresatthemoon's list
Solar System Adjectives
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eesome
Includes any intangible conceivable independently of Hom. Sap.
depthless, overspire, unsteady, thitherward, rile, munchable, covet, pastinaceous, mirtle, slonk, tink, inerrarable and 345 more...
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fibrous words
good strong words that create distinct images and feelings
tuneful, usher, fibrous, trinket, dollop, tinker, besmirch, simper, urge, scrawny, shrivel, slake and 69 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for inexact.
chained_bear You're right, rolig. I never thought of it that way, but that's a very astute comment indeed. I have a new appreciation for this word (though I did rather like it before). Dec 8, 2007
rolig Curiously, a very precise word. It's more than simply "not exact" – but rather, "just off the mark, approximate": as in, "an inexact rhyme". It seems to underscore the unattained exactness almost as much as the missed effort. Dec 6, 2007