obscurity

American  

[uhb-skyoor-i-tee] / əbˈskjʊər ɪ ti /

noun

• obscurities
  plural

1. the state or quality of being obscure.

2. the condition of being unknown.

   He lived in obscurity for years before winning acclaim.

3. uncertainty of meaning or expression; ambiguity.

4. an unknown or unimportant person or thing.

5. darkness; dimness; indistinctness.

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obscurity British  

/ əbˈskjʊərɪtɪ /

noun

1. the state or quality of being obscure

2. an obscure person or thing

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonobscurity
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• obscurities
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of obscurity

1470–80; late Middle English < Middle French obscurite < Latin obscūritās, equivalent to obscūr ( us ) obscure + -itās -ity

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Explanation

One meaning of obscurity is nobody knowing who you are, and another definition is something that is hard to understand because it’s too complex or unclear. Obscurity is the opposite of fame, and living in obscurity means that nobody knows your name. Many musicians played in obscurity for years before becoming rock stars. The Latin obscurus means “dark,” which is where obscurity is found: in the dark where no one sees it. Something difficult to comprehend has obscurity, for example the obscurity of a medical magazine, or a complex poem that is full of literary obscurities, referencing other poems that no one has read.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

obscurity obscurities

Asco’s work remained in relative obscurity — living in local mythology through storytellers like Ignacio — for decades.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

The enterprise faded into obscurity after Bowen’s death, and soybeans remained little more than a curiosity in North America.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026

Bouncing down dusty roads, performing at snake-handling parties, rescuing homeowners from vipers and thousands of creatures from nameless obscurity, the snake men appeal to the renegade in us all.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

"Their success revived interest in Lawrence's dramatic work and helped spark a renaissance of his plays in London theatre circles after decades of relative obscurity following his death in 1930," the agency said.

From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026

For Wotton has sunk into an obscurity even deeper than Temple’s.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

The rise in popularity of revival screenings, which find audiences packing theaters in Los Angeles and around the world for acknowledged classics and rediscovered obscurities, has brought a joyful energy back to theaters.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

They scour the internet to confirm obscurities, contact competition officials and high-school counselors and use a video-interview program to suss out students’ research claims.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

"It was a great song, and as a fan of 60s and 70s obscurities I knew it was unknown."

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2025

She also plays endearing obscurities, like the first songs she wrote as a child.

From New York Times ● Oct. 16, 2022

He pursued more stimulating projects, whilst I, alone in the chamber, labored through his Classical obscurities.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

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Related Words

• darkness

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