I. əbzˈkyu̇(ə)r, (ˈ)äbz|k-, -bˈsk-, -b|sk-, -u̇ə adjective
( sometimes -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French obscur, from Latin obscurus, from ob- to, against, over + -scurus (akin to Old High German scūr covered place, shelter, Old Frisian skūre barn, shed, Icelandic skūrr sheltering roof, Greek keuthein to conceal, skytos skin, leather — more at ob- , hide
1. : lacking or inadequately supplied with light : dark , dim , gloomy
the obscure dusk of the shuttered room
2. : not readily perceived: as
a. of a place : withdrawn from the centers of human activity : remote , retired , secret
these obscure regions
settled in an obscure country village
b. : not readily understood : lacking clarity or legibility : not clearly expressed : abstruse
an obscure reference
an obscure writing
c. : lacking showiness, worth, or prominence by which the attention might be attracted : inconspicuous , humble
such obscure everyday people
an obscure Roman poet
this obscure cottage housed an unnoticed genius
d. : lacking clarity or distinctness of form or outline : faint , indistinct
obscure markings on the wings of a butterfly
a delicate pattern of obscure lines
e. : indistinctly or imperfectly felt or apprehended
an obscure pulse
sounds obscure in the distance
3. : of or relating to darkness : frequenting or enveloped in darkness : unseen
the obscure powers of evil
standing obscure in the deepest shade
4. : constituting the unstressed vowel ə or having unstressed ə as its value
Synonyms:
dark , vague , enigmatic , cryptic , ambiguous , equivocal : obscure may apply to communication the meaning of which is hidden or veiled, often through some defect of expression, sometimes through abstruse or arcane nature
there are more obscure poems written and printed every year than clear ones — R.B.West
the communiqué was apt to be obscure as to its sense, so that the priests might have to clarify it — W.W.Howells
dark may refer to what is imperfectly revealed and hence somewhat mysterious, perhaps with ominous or sinister suggestion
they hunt for clues to our present duty and future destiny among the dark sayings of Daniel, Micah, and the Book of Revelations — Brand Blanshard
vague may describe that which lacks clear distinctness as not susceptible to definitive formulation or as imperfectly conceived or not definitively thought out
much vaguer and indeed obscure allegory — Rex Warner
only a vague, genial theory as a policy with inadequate preparation, and lacking a clear-cut, definitive, and detailed plan — R.E.Danielson
a vague sense of obligation was replaced by an exacting set of rules — R.W.Southern
enigmatic refers to what puzzles by suggestive unclarity of allusion or ramification
this enigmatic utterance — Jack London
fell to conjecturing the meaning of Farfrae's enigmatic words about not daring to ask her what he fain would — Thomas Hardy
cryptic may describe that which is purposefully darkly enigmatic or esoteric
a very cryptic text — S.F.Mason
that cryptic unintelligibility, the sibylline phrase, which, if it has a meaning, sometimes guards it all too well from the bewildered reader — American Guide Series: Massachusetts
ambiguous applies to communication admitting of more than one interpretation
most words are ambiguous as regards their plain sense, especially in poetry — I.A.Richards
the title of this chapter is ambiguous — A.S.Eddington
equivocal may describe whatever admits of false interpretation, often purposefully phrased or delivered as an expedient to deceive or evade
to veil the matter, with utterances capable of more equivocal meaning — H.O.Taylor
the Moral Law speaks in equivocal tones to those who listen most scrupulously for its dictates — L.P.Smith
Synonym: see in addition dark .
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin obscurare, from obscurus obscure
1. : to make obscure: as
a. : to make dim : darken
the soot on the lampshade obscured the light
b. : to conceal or hide from view as by or as if by covering wholly or in part : make difficult to discern
the fine sunburn somewhat obscured the inherent transparency of his complexion — Elinor Wylie
also : disguise
no dukedom even, however high-sounding and traditional, could obscure for him native idiocy — Osbert Sitwell
c. : to dim in glory or significance : overshadow
in the shadow of Emerson and Thoreau, the wit of Back Bay is in danger of being obscured — V.L.Parrington
d. : to make unintelligible or vague : make difficult to understand
too much use of symbolism obscured his poetic thought
e. : to make (as a sound or line) indistinct or undefined
writing obscured by age and mildew
also : to make indistinct in logical or rational order
reasoning obscured by emotion
f. : to make (as the judgment) weak : impair
her blood being stirred … her judgment was slightly obscured — Arnold Bennett
2. : to use unstressed ə for (an item of spelling) or instead of (another vowel in a variant spelling or gradational form)
Synonyms:
obscure , dim , bedim , darken , eclipse , cloud , becloud , fog , befog , obfuscate , obnubilate : of these terms obscure , dim , bedim , and darken all suggest the effect obtained by the lessening or the removal of illumination — the making of an object difficult to see clearly or the weakening or impairing of the ability to see with the eye or the mind. obscure stresses the indistinctness, often concealment, of the object or idea or the unclearness of the vision or the comprehension
there are readers of papers who … like the ordinary, average day, with its good human humdrum; they do not want to have its nature denied or obscured — C.E.Montague
the faded yellow building, its original austerity of line somewhat obscured by a comfortable porch — American Guide Series: Vermont
dim and bedim stress the diminishing of light or of clarity, intensity, or luster or the consequent diminishing of capacity to see, distinguish, or comprehend; bedim is usually found in a more literary context than dim
celestial tears bedimm'd her large blue eyes — Lord Byron
the old patriotic glow began to dim its ineffectual fires — Howard M. Jones
darken , although like dim and bedim suggesting a diminishing of illumination, is much richer metaphorically in suggesting strongly the alteration of an object or the impairment of clear or normal vision or mental comprehension by reason of confusion, ignorance, or evil
the yearly migrations of passenger pigeons … literally darkening the sky — American Guide Series: Michigan
his intellect was indeed darkened by many superstitions and prejudices — T.B.Macaulay
evils enough to darken all his goodness — Shakespeare
eclipse may stand alone in suggesting the effect of an actual astronomical eclipse, the partial or total darkening or concealment of one object by another and, hence, the overshadowing or supplanting of one object by another
in the English field, Anglo-Saxon never eclipsed the study of Shakespeare or Milton — A.L.Guérard
cloud , becloud , fog , befog , obfuscate , and obnubilate all suggest the obstruction or impairment of vision by clouds, fog, or other vapor or, in figurative extension, the making of the mental perception or object of that perception murky or confused. cloud and becloud stress the obscuring of the object, or the murky view of the object; becloud is somewhat more literary than cloud
the beginnings of our physical universe are necessarily beclouded in the swirling mists of countless ages past — F.L.Whipple
smoke clouding the prospect before us
the actual issues clouded by prejudice and politics
reasoning clouded by hysteria
fog and befog are applied possibly more frequently than cloud and becloud to matters of the understanding or mental comprehension and usually suggest a greater obstruction or impairment of clear vision of eye and mind and, so, a greater and more unnecessary indistinctness, illogicality, or confusion; befog is somewhat more literary than fog
the willfully created misunderstandings that so often befog the American political scene — Carl Sandburg
the landscape fogged by the smoke from the forest fire
eyes fogged by sleep
a mind befogged by fatigue
truth fogged by the imperfections of human sight
a text fogged by careless scholarship
obfuscate found usually in a literary context suggests strongly an avoidable, often willful, obscuring of an object or confusing of the mind by darkening or illogicality
the process, not of enlightening but of obfuscating the mind — H.D.Thoreau
obnubilate confines itself in modern usage chiefly to a nontechnical medical use to designate the radical impairing of the mental faculties to the point of torpor
obnubilate the patient with thiopentone and then wake him up with some cerebral stimulant — Lancet
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: obscure (I)
: something (as an unknown place, the darkness of night, or a part in a picture) that is obscure : obscurity