/ əbˈskjʊə(r); NAmE əbˈskjʊr/ adjective , verb
■ adjective
1.
not well known
SYN unknown :
an obscure German poet
He was born around 1650 but his origins remain obscure.
2.
difficult to understand :
I found her lecture very obscure.
For some obscure reason , he failed to turn up.
► ob·scure·ly adverb :
They were making her feel obscurely worried (= for reasons that were difficult to understand) .
■ verb
[ vn ] to make it difficult to see, hear or understand sth :
The view was obscured by fog.
We mustn't let these minor details obscure the main issue.
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Old French obscur , from Latin obscurus dark, from an Indo-European root meaning cover.