Meanings
adjectiveindefinite (comparative more indefinite, superlative most indefinite)
comparative more indefinite · superlative most indefinite
- Without limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite.
Your account will be suspended for an indefinite period of time.
1 more example
A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the government from enforcing a controversial statute about the indefinite detention without trial of terrorism suspects.
2012 September 12, Charlie Savage, “Judge Rules Against Law on Indefinite Detention”, in The New York TimesSynonyms: unlimited, unrestricted
- Undecided or uncertain.
I'm still indefinite about what I'm going to study at college.
Synonyms: undefined, indeterminate, unsettled, indecisive, unsure
- mathematicsBeing an integral without specified limits.
Don't forget to m the +C when calculating indefinite integrals.
Synonyms: primitive, antiderivative
- human sciencesDesignating an unspecified or unidentified person or thing or group of persons or things.
the indefinite article
nounindefinite (plural indefinites)
plural indefinites
- grammarA word or phrase that designates an unspecified or unidentified person or thing or group of persons or things.
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveWithout limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite.
Similar
adjectiveVague or unclear.
Similar
adjectiveUndecided or uncertain.
adjectiveBeing an integral without specified limits.
Similar
Similar
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivevague or not clearly defined or stated
Opposite
adjectivenot decided or not known
Similar
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Late Latinindēfīnītus
- Englishindefinite
From Late Latin indēfīnītus. Morphologically in- + definite.
More words from Late Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic نَكِرَة
- نَكِرَة (nakira)(linguistics) designating an unspecified or unidentified person or thing
Bulgarian неограничен, неясен
- неограничен (neograničen)without limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
- неясен (nejasen)vague or unclear
- неопределен (neopredelen)undecided or uncertain
- неопределен (neopredelen)of an integral: without specified limits
- неопределителен (neopredelitelen)(linguistics) designating an unspecified or unidentified person or thing
Catalan indefinit, indefinit
- indefinitwithout limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
- indefinitvague or unclear
- indefinitundecided or uncertain
- indefinitof an integral: without specified limits
- indefinit(linguistics) designating an unspecified or unidentified person or thing
Chinese Mandarin 不定
- 不定 (bùdìng)of an integral: without specified limits
Czech neurčitý, neurčitý
- neurčitýwithout limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
- neurčitývague or unclear
- neurčitýof an integral: without specified limits
Danish ubestemt, uklar
- ubestemtwithout limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
- uklarvague or unclear
- ubestemtundecided or uncertain
- ubestemtof an integral: without specified limits
- bestemt(linguistics) designating an unspecified or unidentified person or thing
Finnish epämääräinen, ääretön
- epämääräinenwithout limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
- ääretönwithout limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
- määrittelemätönwithout limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
- epämääräinenvague or unclear
- ylimalkainenvague or unclear
- epämääräinenundecided or uncertain
- epävarmaundecided or uncertain
- määräämätönof an integral: without specified limits
German unbegrenzt, unbestimmt
- unbegrenztwithout limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
- unbestimmtwithout limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
- vagevague or unclear
- unklarvague or unclear
- unentschiedenundecided or uncertain
- unsicherundecided or uncertain
- unbestimmtof an integral: without specified limits
- unbestimmt(linguistics) designating an unspecified or unidentified person or thing
Greek αόριστος, ακαθόριστος
- αόριστος (aóristos)without limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
- ακαθόριστος (akathóristos)without limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
- αόριστος (aóristos)vague or unclear
- ακαθόριστος (akathóristos)undecided or uncertain
Hungarian határozatlan, korlátlan
- határozatlanwithout limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
- korlátlanwithout limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
- bizonytalanvague or unclear
- bizonytalanundecided or uncertain
- határozatlanof an integral: without specified limits
- határozatlan(linguistics) designating an unspecified or unidentified person or thing
Indonesian indefinit, taktakrif
- indefinit(linguistics) designating an unspecified or unidentified person or thing
- taktakrif(linguistics) designating an unspecified or unidentified person or thing
Italian indefinito, indefinito
- indefinitowithout limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
- indefinitovague or unclear
- indefinitoundecided or uncertain
Japanese 不定
- 不定 (futei)of an integral: without specified limits
Latin indēfīnītus
- indēfīnītuswithout limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
Latvian nenoteikts
- nenoteiktsundecided or uncertain
Norwegian Bokmål bestemt
- bestemt(linguistics) designating an unspecified or unidentified person or thing
Polish nieokreślony, nieograniczony
- nieokreślonywithout limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
- nieograniczonywithout limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
- bezterminowywithout limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
- nieokreślonyvague or unclear
- niewyraźnyvague or unclear
- nieoznaczonaof an integral: without specified limits
Russian неограни́ченный, бесконе́чный
- неограни́ченный (neograníčennyj)without limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
- бесконе́чный (beskonéčnyj)without limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
- безграни́чный (bezgraníčnyj)without limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
- неопределённый (neopredeljónnyj)vague or unclear
- нея́сный (nejásnyj)vague or unclear
- неопределённый (neopredeljónnyj)undecided or uncertain
- неопределённый (neopredeljónnyj)of an integral: without specified limits
Spanish indefinido
- indefinido(linguistics) designating an unspecified or unidentified person or thing
Swedish obestämd, oklar
- obestämdwithout limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
- oklarvague or unclear
- obestämdundecided or uncertain
- obestämdof an integral: without specified limits
- obestämd(linguistics) designating an unspecified or unidentified person or thing
Tagalog dituring
- dituringwithout limit; forever, or until further notice; not definite
Cite this entry
APA
indefinite. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/indefinite
MLA
“indefinite.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/indefinite. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “indefinite,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/indefinite.
Source: indefinite on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.