inexact

/ɪnɪɡˈzækt/

Something inexact is vague or not quite correct. If a doctor gives you an inexact diagnosis, you might want to see a specialist for a more specific opinion.

When a poem's translation from one language to another is inexact, a lot of the original meaning can be lost. Some things, like weather prediction, simply have to be inexact — you could call meteorology, or the study of weather patterns, an "inexact science." The Latin root is exactus, "precise or accurate," with the added prefix in-, or "not."

Definitions of inexact

1. adjective

   not exact
   synonyms:

   inaccurate

   not exact

   approximate, approximative, rough

   not quite exact or correct

   free, liberal, loose

   not literal

   odd

   an indefinite quantity more than that specified

   round

   (mathematics) expressed to the nearest integer, ten, hundred, or thousand

   imprecise

   not precise

   antonyms:

   exact

   marked by strict and particular and complete accordance with fact

   accurate

   conforming exactly or almost exactly to fact or to a standard or performing with total accuracy

   direct, verbatim

   in precisely the same words used by a writer or speaker

   literal

   without interpretation or embellishment

   mathematical

   characterized by the exactness or precision of mathematics

   perfect

   precisely accurate or exact

   photographic

   representing people or nature with the exactness and fidelity of a photograph

   rigorous, strict

   rigidly accurate; allowing no deviation from a standard

   literal

   limited to the explicit meaning of a word or text

   perfect

   being complete of its kind and without defect or blemish

   precise

   sharply exact or accurate or delimited