abstruse
Americanadjective
-
hard to understand; recondite; esoteric.
abstruse theories.
- Synonyms:
- arcane , unfathomable , incomprehensible
- Antonyms:
- obvious , simple , uncomplicated , clear
-
Obsolete. secret; hidden.
adjective
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Other Word Forms
- abstrusely adverb
- abstruseness noun
Etymology
Origin of abstruse
1590–1600; < Latin abstrūsus thrust away, concealed (past participle of abstrūdere ), equivalent to abs- abs- + trūd- thrust + -tus past participle suffix
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.
George F. Will attributed overall declines in college enrollment to changes in the nature of higher education, including the teaching of “abstruse literary theories” instead of formal analysis of great novels such as “Mansfield Park.”
From Washington Post
Who wants a literature major that is mostly about abstruse literary theories — “deconstruction,” etc.?
From Washington Post
As they see it, hashing out the abstruse subtleties wrapped up in the idea of forgiveness is a distraction from the task at hand.
From Salon
Quantum theory may be weird and notoriously abstruse, but it is foundational to modern physics.
From Washington Post
So it is with the material of our heroine’s life: There’s a right way to fashion it, even if at first it seems abstruse.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
