abstruse

[ ab-stroos ]
See synonyms for abstruse on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. hard to understand; recondite; esoteric: abstruse theories.

  2. Obsolete. secret; hidden.

Origin of abstruse

1
1590–1600; <Latin abstrūsus thrust away, concealed (past participle of abstrūdere), equivalent to abs-abs- + trūd- thrust + -tus past participle suffix

Other words for abstruse

Opposites for abstruse

Other words from abstruse

  • ab·struse·ly, adverb
  • ab·struse·ness, noun

Words that may be confused with abstruse

Words Nearby abstruse

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use abstruse in a sentence

  • You,” said I. “You drive a nail as if it were an abstruse problem in differential calculus.

    The Idyl of Twin Fires | Walter Prichard Eaton

British Dictionary definitions for abstruse

abstruse

/ (əbˈstruːs) /


adjective
  1. not easy to understand; recondite; esoteric

Origin of abstruse

1
C16: from Latin abstrūsus thrust away, concealed, from abs- ab- 1 + trūdere to thrust

Derived forms of abstruse

  • abstrusely, adverb
  • abstruseness, 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