Literary notes about indefinite (AI summary)
The word “indefinite” has been employed with a broad spectrum of meanings in literature, ranging from descriptions of temporal or quantitative vagueness to expressions of conceptual ambiguity. In some texts, it defines duration or extent in an imprecise manner—as when characters are told to sit in silence for an “indefinite period” [1] or when promises and salary terms are described as “indefinite” [2, 3]. In other contexts, “indefinite” is used to denote a lack of clarity or precision, such as the blurred and vague qualities in visual descriptions [4, 5] or the uncertain nature of abstract mental states, as noted in discussions on the limits of knowledge [6, 7]. Beyond these narrative uses, the term also figures prominently in grammatical classification, distinguishing between demonstrative and indefinite pronouns [8, 9, 10]. Whether characterizing the physical, temporal, or conceptual, “indefinite” serves to highlight areas of uncertainty and unboundedness across genres and disciplines [11, 12, 13].
- Furthermore, they were taught to enter a room and to sit for an indefinite period in self-effacing silence while their elders were talking.
— from Etiquette by Emily Post - For this he received a room, his board, and an indefinite salary.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - He has decided to leave Europe for an indefinite time.
— from Villette by Charlotte Brontë - I have observed that, although the outlines of the figures upon the walls were sufficiently distinct, yet the colors seemed blurred and indefinite.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe — Volume 2 by Edgar Allan Poe - I have observed that, although the outlines of the figures upon the walls were sufficiently distinct, yet the colors seemed blurred and indefinite.
— from The Works of Edgar Allan Poe, The Raven Edition by Edgar Allan Poe - Now all knowledge is definite; it is only ignorance that is indefinite.
— from Know the Truth: A Critique on the Hamiltonian Theory of Limitation by Jesse Henry Jones - "By its very nature, therefore, this ultimate mental element is at once necessarily indefinite and necessarily indestructible.
— from Know the Truth: A Critique on the Hamiltonian Theory of Limitation by Jesse Henry Jones - Adjective pronouns are classified, according to their meaning, as (1) demonstrative pronouns and (2) indefinite pronouns .
— from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by Frank Edgar Farley and George Lyman Kittredge - See Personal , Adjective , Demonstrative , Indefinite , Relative , Interrogative , Intensive , Reflexive , Reciprocal , Gender .
— from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by Frank Edgar Farley and George Lyman Kittredge - Indefinite article, 77 ff.; pronouns and adjectives, 64 f.; nouns, 65 ; relatives ( whoever , etc.), 72 f. Independent clauses, 17
— from An Advanced English Grammar with Exercises by Frank Edgar Farley and George Lyman Kittredge - Applied ornament has an indefinite range and there would be little profit in reasoning about it.
— from The Life of Reason: The Phases of Human Progress by George Santayana - A large and indefinite number of Upanishads is attributed to the Atharva-veda , but the most authoritative list recognises twenty-seven altogether.
— from A History of Sanskrit Literature by Arthur Anthony Macdonell - Considerations on the effects of the expansion of the gases in an indefinite or limited compressible medium.
— from The Declaration of Independence of the United States of America by Thomas Jefferson