Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Not brought into focus.
  • adjective Not centered on anything specific.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Not focused

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective (of an image) not being in or brought into focus
  • adjective not concentrated at one point or upon one objective

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

un- +‎ focused

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Examples

  • Where no focused interaction occurs, the term unfocused gathering can be used.

    Behavior in Public Places ERVING GOFFMAN 1963

  • President Obama made clear during five wide-ranging television interviews Sunday that he had firmly turned the page on the George W. Bush administration's foreign policy, which he described as unfocused and "adrift" in Afghanistan as well as outdated in its approach to a possible Iranian missile threat.

    The Washington Times stories: Latest Headlines 2009

  • To call this unfocused is simply a misstatement of the facts.

    Obama Speaks of NASA Being Adrift - NASA Watch 2009

  • "That challenged our guys because we knew that they might have come in unfocused and looking ahead to Ohio State," Grobe said.

    USATODAY.com 2003

  • Israel’s coarse arrogance and fiendishly systematic brutalization of the Palestinian people has led to a numb outrage that tends to erupt in unfocused ways.

    Matthew Yglesias » Ground Attack 2009

  • What’s making this year’s show feel so unfocused is that the individual corporations want to deal, but they’re not sure at all – it seems to me – how the business models work out exactly.

    Death of the Corporation - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

  • What’s making this year’s show feel so unfocused is that the individual corporations want to deal, but they’re not sure at all – it seems to me – how the business models work out exactly.

    Death of the Corporation - Bits Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

  • I mean, he's kind of a, you know, I guess, a little bit unfocused, which is sort of part of his genius, but here, it doesn't necessarily serve him all that well.

    Lil Wayne, My Morning Jacket Release New CDs 2008

  • I mean, he's kind of a, you know, I guess, a little bit unfocused, which is sort of part of his genius, but here, it doesn't necessarily serve him all that well.

    Lil Wayne, My Morning Jacket Release New CDs 2008

  • I mean, he's kind of a, you know, I guess, a little bit unfocused, which is sort of part of his genius, but here, it doesn't necessarily serve him all that well.

    Lil Wayne, My Morning Jacket Release New CDs 2008

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