Added to
Favorites
Sign Up
Log In
Introducing a cool
new way to learn!
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Word Dynamo
Quotes
Reference
Translator
Spanish
Related Searches
Abstemious
Recondite
Obtuse
Acquiesce
Abscond
Accolade
Abstract
Affable
Nearby Words
abstract-noun
abstract-number
abstract-space
abstract-title
abstract-type a...
abstracting jou...
abstracting ser...
abstracting-jou...
abstracting-ser...
abstraction
abstractional
abstractionism
abstractionist
abstractitious
abstractive
abstractor
abstrict
abstriction
abstringe
abstrude
abstruse
abstrusion
abstrusity
absume
absumption
absurd
absurd, theater...
absurdism
absurdist
absurdity
absys
abt
abt.
abta
abterminal
abtp
abtres
abu 'ali al-has...
abu 'l hasan al...
abu 'l hasan al...
abu 'l-hasan al...
Synonyms
incomprehensible
unfathomable
complicated
perplexing
recondite
enigmatic
intricate
MORE
abstruse
[
ab-
stroos
]
Example Sentences
Origin
ab·struse
/
æbˈstrus
/
Show Spelled
[
ab-
stroos
]
Show IPA
adjective
1.
hard to understand; recondite; esoteric:
abstruse theories.
2.
Obsolete
.
secret; hidden.
Origin:
1590–1600;
<
Latin
abstrūsus
thrust away, concealed (past participle of
abstrūdere
), equivalent to
abs-
abs-
+
trūd-
thrust +
-tus
past participle suffix
Related forms
ab·struse·ly,
adverb
ab·struse·ness,
noun
Can be confused:
abstruse,
obtuse
.
Synonyms
1.
incomprehensible, unfathomable, arcane.
Antonyms
1.
clear, uncomplicated, simple; obvious.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source
|
Link To
abstruse
:10
:09
:08
:07
:06
:05
:04
:03
:02
:01
Abstruse
is an SAT word you need to know.
So is
callow
. Does it mean:
So is
abrogate
. Does it mean:
So is
nebulous
. Does it mean:
immature
group
mental fabrication
annul
tone or chord to which a dissonance is resolved
hazy, vague, indistinct, or confused; cloudy or cloudlike
LEARN MORE SAT WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
Example Sentences
If your initial topic seems
abstruse
, consider the motivation that led you to it in the first place.
It's often stimulating, but too
abstruse
for the average reader.
Despite its success, readers confessed to difficulty in grasping its more
abstruse
concepts.
EXPAND
Adjective
If your initial topic seems
abstruse
, consider the motivation that led you to it in the first place.
It's often stimulating, but too
abstruse
for the average reader.
Despite its success, readers confessed to difficulty in grasping its more
abstruse
concepts.
Though
abstruse
, these definitions could shape the long-term future of genetic testing.
Many of his sources are obscure and
abstruse
.
That sentence is not mysterious,
abstruse
, or resistant to comprehension.
The first one is an
abstruse
mixture of conspiracy theories.
Edward was the family eccentric, more involved in
abstruse
ecological and artistic concerns than business matters.
Some university-based research can sound ridiculously
abstruse
.
He's the rare rapper who has become more obscure and
abstruse
as his fame has grown.
COLLAPSE
Collins
World English Dictionary
abstruse
(əbˈstruːs)
—
adj
not easy to understand; recondite; esoteric
[C16: from Latin
abstrūsus
thrust away, concealed, from
abs-
ab-
1
+
trūdere
to thrust]
ab'strusely
—
adv
ab'struseness
—
n
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
abstruse
c.1600, from L. abstrusus, pp. of abstrudere "conceal," lit. "to thrust away," from ab- "away" + trudere "to thrust, push" (see
extrusion
).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Word Dynamo By Dictionary.com
Searching for
abstruse
?
How many words do you actually know?
FIND OUT
Related Words
abstrusity
dark
metaphysical
metaphysics
metaphysics
recondite
uncertain
MORE
Matching Quote
"Let us become thoroughly sensible of the weakness, blindness, and narrow limits of human reason: Let us duly consider its uncertainty and endless contrarieties, even in subjects of common life and practice.... When these topics are displayed in their full light, as they are by some philosophers and almost all divines; who can retain such confidence in this frail faculty of reason as to pay any regard to its determinations in points so sublime, so
abstruse
, so remote from common life and experience?"
-David Hume
MORE
Partners:
Word
Bloglines
Citysearch
The Daily Beast
Ask Answers
Ask Kids
Life123
Sendori
Thesaurus
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright ©
2012
. All rights reserved.
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
API
Careers
Advertise with Us
Contact Us
Help
Please
Login
or
Sign Up
to use the Favorites feature
Please
Login
or
Sign Up
to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT
How many words do you know?
FIND OUT