obscure
(of meaning) not clear or plain; ambiguous, vague, or uncertain: an obscure sentence in the contract.
not clear to the understanding; hard to perceive: obscure motivations.
(of language, style, a speaker, etc.) not expressing the meaning clearly or plainly.
indistinct to the sight or any other sense; not readily seen, heard, etc.; faint.
inconspicuous or unnoticeable: the obscure beginnings of a great movement.
of little or no prominence, note, fame, or distinction: an obscure French artist.
enveloped in, concealed by, or frequenting darkness.
not bright or lustrous; dull or darkish, as color or appearance.
(of a vowel) having the reduced or neutral sound usually represented by the schwa (ə).
to conceal or conceal by confusing (the meaning of a statement, poem, etc.).
to make dark, dim, indistinct, etc.
to reduce or neutralize (a vowel) to the sound usually represented by a schwa (ə).
Origin of obscure
1synonym study For obscure
word story For obscure
The verb obscure may simply derive from the English adjective by functional shift (a change in the grammatical function of a word). Alternatively, the verb may derive from Middle French obscurer “to make or become dark” or from Latin obscūrāre “to cover, obscure, overshadow, conceal,” a verb derived from obscūrus.
The unrecorded Latin adjective scūrus comes from the Proto-Indo-European root (s)keu-, (s)kū- (with variants) “to cover, envelop” ( scūrus therefore means “covered over”). In Germanic the variant skeu- forms the base of the noun skeujam “cloud cover, cloud,” becoming skȳ “cloud” in Old Norse, which is the immediate source of English sky (a 13th-century borrowing). The variant skū- forms the noun skūmaz “scum” (because it covers the water), which becomes scum in English.
Other words for obscure
1 | doubtful, dubious |
4 | blurred, veiled |
6 | unnoted, undistinguished, unknown |
7 | secluded, inconspicuous, unnoticeable, unnoticed |
8 | dusky, shadowy, somber |
Opposites for obscure
Other words from obscure
- ob·scur·ed·ly [uhb-skyoor-id-lee], /əbˈskyʊər ɪd li/, ob·scure·ly, adverb
- ob·scure·ness, noun
- sub·ob·scure, adjective
- sub·ob·scure·ness, noun
- un·ob·scure, adjective
- un·ob·scure·ness, noun
- un·ob·scured, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use obscure in a sentence
Driven by Mantello’s sensitive direction, the script reveals layers of subtext that may have been previously obscured for many viewers.
They obscured and scattered sounds reflected off the outer stone circle.
Stonehenge enhanced voices and music within the stone ring | Bruce Bower | September 29, 2020 | Science News For StudentsSimmons had been one of four players during the 2017-18 regular season to score more than 1,000 points in the paint, so Boston prioritized obscuring his path to the rim throughout the series.
Can The Sixers Find A Way To Win It All With Embiid And Simmons? | James L. Jackson | September 28, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightThat means the camera itself is completely obscured and can’t record anything if it’s not flying.
Amazon’s home security drone may actually be less creepy than a regular camera | Stan Horaczek | September 26, 2020 | Popular-ScienceCritics worry that in a warming world where smoke now obscures the sun, pressure to act quickly is advancing a cause faster than science can keep up.
This restaurant duo want a zero-carbon food system. Can it happen? | Bobbie Johnson | September 24, 2020 | MIT Technology Review
He could, theoretically, present himself as a model citizen who made a mistake while obscuring what the mistakes been.
The Weirdest Story About a Conservative Obsession, a Convicted Bomber, and Taylor Swift You Have Ever Read | David Weigel | August 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIn this case, the rapid flow obviously was lying directly between the black hole and us, obscuring our view.
The Guardian recently wondered whether “the breasts are obscuring the message.”
One of the wages of polarization is the obscuring of what once was broad common ground even on supposed culture war issues.
Her body was covered with a blanket when it was found inside a cavern of the ancient walls, obscuring it from view.
Louis could not help seeing the lovely group, through the half-obscuring draperies of the open door.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterWe stumbled along, close up, for the thick-piled clouds still hung their light-obscuring banners over the sky.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairOf course, it was not smoke obscuring the moon, she decided; it was a lamp, upheld by an ivory figure—a lamp with a Chinese shade.
Dope | Sax RohmerStone dust was obscuring the figure now, glittering in the sunlight.
The Worshippers | Damon Francis KnightIt is possible that the whole science of life consists in obscuring the truth.
The Child of Pleasure | Gabriele D'Annunzio
British Dictionary definitions for obscure
/ (əbˈskjʊə) /
unclear or abstruse
indistinct, vague, or indefinite
inconspicuous or unimportant
hidden, secret, or remote
(of a vowel) reduced to or transformed into a neutral vowel (ə)
gloomy, dark, clouded, or dim
to make unclear, vague, or hidden
to cover or cloud over
phonetics to pronounce (a vowel) with articulation that causes it to become a neutral sound represented by (ə)
a rare word for obscurity
Origin of obscure
1Derived forms of obscure
- obscuration (ˌɒbskjʊˈreɪʃən), noun
- obscurely, adverb
- obscureness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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