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- DictionaryOb·scure/əbˈskyo͝or/
adjective
- 1. not discovered or known about; uncertain: "his origins and parentage are obscure" Similar unclearuncertainunknownin doubtdoubtfuldubiousmysterioushazyvagueindeterminateconcealedhidden
- ▪ not clearly expressed or easily understood: "obscure references to Proust" Similar abstrusereconditearcaneesotericrecherchéoccultenigmaticmystifyingpuzzlingperplexingbafflingambiguouscrypticequivocalDelphicoracularriddlingobliqueopaqueellipticalunintelligibleuninterpretableincomprehensibleimpenetrableunfathomableinexplicableunexplainedinformal:as clear as mudOpposite clearplain
- ▪ not important or well known: "an obscure religious sect" Similar little knownunknownunheard ofundistinguishedinsignificantunimportantinconsequentialinconspicuousunnoticednamelessanonymousminorhumblelowlyunrenownedunsungunrecognizedunhonoredingloriousforgottenOpposite famousrenowned
- ▪ hard to make out or define; vague: "I feel an obscure resentment" Similar indistinctfaintvagueill-definedunclearblurredblurrymistyhazyfoggyveiledcloudycloudednebulousfuzzydarkdimunlitblackmurkysombergloomyshadyshadowyliterary:duskytenebrousdarklingcrepuscularrare:caliginousCimmerianOpposite distinct
- ▪ (of a color) not sharply defined; dim or dingy.
verb
- 1. keep from being seen; conceal: "gray clouds obscure the sun" Similar hideconcealcoverveilshroudscreenmaskcloakcast a shadow overshadowenvelopmantleblockblock outblank outobliterateeclipseovershadowliterary:enshroudbedimbenightrare:obnubilateadumbrateOpposite reveal
- ▪ make unclear and difficult to understand: "the debate has become obscured by conflicting ideological perspectives" Similar confusecomplicateobfuscatecloudblurmuddymuddy the watersliterary:becloudbefogOpposite clarifyilluminate
- ▪ overshadow: "none of this should obscure the skill, experience, and perseverance of the workers"
Word Origin late Middle English: from Old French obscur, from Latin obscurus ‘dark’, from an Indo-European root meaning ‘cover’.
Derivatives
- 1. obscurely adverb
Scrabble Points: 11
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