obscurity
Americannoun
-
obscurities
plural
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the state or quality of being obscure.
-
the condition of being unknown.
He lived in obscurity for years before winning acclaim.
-
uncertainty of meaning or expression; ambiguity.
-
an unknown or unimportant person or thing.
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darkness; dimness; indistinctness.
noun
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the state or quality of being obscure
-
an obscure person or thing
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of obscurity
1470–80; late Middle English < Middle French obscurite < Latin obscūritās, equivalent to obscūr ( us ) obscure + -itās -ity
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.
Vocabulary lists containing obscurity
The Maze Runner
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Pygmalion
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"The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"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
Martin’s narrative, published anonymously in 1830, promptly fell into obscurity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Papers published in Science often enjoy a media moment before fading into obscurity.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2026
For a thrilling moment, the movie is a platonic rom-com about two dissatisfied artists coming together from opposite directions: Danny crumpling under mass scrutiny, Rick weary of obscurity.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
The Mona Lisa was on its way to obscurity.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
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
Still, with its out-of-print obscurities and several unreleased live recordings, the compilation reaffirms just how unusual the music that Grubbs and O’Rourke made during their five-year run still is.
From New York Times ● May 20, 2024
The song selection is a mix of well-known tunes and obscurities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2021
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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
