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View synonyms for abstruse

abstruse

[ ab-stroos ]

adjective

  1. hard to understand; recondite; esoteric:

    abstruse theories.

    Synonyms: arcane, unfathomable, incomprehensible

    Antonyms: uncomplicated, obvious, simple, clear

  2. Obsolete. secret; hidden.


abstruse

/ əbˈstruːs /

adjective

  1. not easy to understand; recondite; esoteric
“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
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Derived Forms

  • abˈstrusely, adverb
  • abˈstruseness, noun
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Other Words From

  • ab·strusely adverb
  • ab·struseness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of abstruse1

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

Origin of abstruse1

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

I wasn’t expecting to write such a sentence about an abstract and some might even say abstruse Sondheim musical that has had only one short-lived Broadway revival.

A figure of undisputed authority in some of the most abstruse corners of computing, Conway was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1989.

The members kept peppering Daszak with questions about abstruse matters of science and the grant-making process, only to rudely cut him off when he tried to respond.

Higgs, who shared the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physics and spent almost his entire career at the University of Edinburgh, could be as retiring as his work was abstruse.

The particle is part of a concept called the Higgs mechanism that was added to the standard model in the 1970s to explain an abstruse but important puzzle.

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