indistinctness of shape or character; "the scene had the swirling vagueness of a painting by Turner"
unclearness by virtue of being poorly expressed or not coherent in meaning; "the Conservative manifesto is a model of vagueness"; "these terms were used with a vagueness that suggested little or no thought about what each might convey"
put down by force or intimidation; "The government quashes any attempt of an uprising"; "China keeps down her dissidents very efficiently"; "The rich landowners subjugated the peasants working the land"