obscure
Americanadjective
-
(of meaning) not clear or plain; ambiguous, vague, or uncertain.
an obscure sentence in the contract.
- Antonyms:
- certain
-
not clear to the understanding; hard to perceive.
obscure motivations.
-
(of language, style, a speaker, etc.) not expressing the meaning clearly or plainly.
-
indistinct to the sight or any other sense; not readily seen, heard, etc.; faint.
- Synonyms:
- veiled
- Antonyms:
- clear
-
inconspicuous or unnoticeable.
the obscure beginnings of a great movement.
-
of little or no prominence, note, fame, or distinction.
an obscure French artist.
- Synonyms:
- unknown, undistinguished
- Antonyms:
- conspicuous, noted
-
far from public notice, worldly affairs, or important activities; remote; retired.
an obscure little town.
- Synonyms:
- inconspicuous, secluded
-
lacking in light or illumination; dark; dim; murky.
an obscure back room.
- Antonyms:
- bright
-
enveloped in, concealed by, or frequenting darkness.
-
not bright or lustrous; dull or darkish, as color or appearance.
-
(of a vowel) having the reduced or neutral sound usually represented by the schwa (ə).
verb (used with object)
-
to conceal or conceal by confusing (the meaning of a statement, poem, etc.).
-
to make dark, dim, indistinct, etc.
-
to reduce or neutralize (a vowel) to the sound usually represented by a schwa (ə).
noun
adjective
-
unclear or abstruse
-
indistinct, vague, or indefinite
-
inconspicuous or unimportant
-
hidden, secret, or remote
-
(of a vowel) reduced to or transformed into a neutral vowel ( ə )
-
gloomy, dark, clouded, or dim
verb
-
to make unclear, vague, or hidden
-
to cover or cloud over
-
phonetics to pronounce (a vowel) with articulation that causes it to become a neutral sound represented by ( ə )
noun
Synonym Usage
See mysterious. See dark.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
obscurationnoun
-
obscurenessnoun
-
subobscurenessnoun
-
unobscurenessnoun
-
subobscureadjective
-
unobscureadjective
-
unobscuredadjective
-
obscuredlyadverb
-
obscurelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
obscuresimple
-
obscuressimple
-
have obscuredperfect
-
has obscuredperfect
-
am obscuringprogressive
-
are obscuringprogressive
-
is obscuringprogressive
-
have been obscuringperfect progressive
-
has been obscuringperfect progressive
Past
-
obscuredsimple
-
had obscuredperfect
-
was obscuringprogressive
-
were obscuringprogressive
-
had been obscuringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of obscure
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Old French oscur, obscur, from Latin obscūrus “dark”
Explanation
If something is obscure, it's vague and hard to see. Be careful if you're driving in heavy rain — the painted lines can be obscure. Obscure comes from Latin obscurus, which can mean "dark, dim," "unclear, hard to understand," or "insignificant, humble." We tend to use obscure in the metaphorical senses: an obscure sound is unclear, an obscure village is hidden away in the countryside, and an obscure poet is little known and probably insignificant. Obscure can also be used as a verb. If you get really nervous when you speak during a debate, your embarrassing twitches and shaking hands can obscure your argument.
Vocabulary lists containing obscure
100 Words Every Middle Schooler Should Know
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The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 2
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Essential Academic Vocabulary for Middle School Students, List 3
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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:
In 2026 we are seeing something different: the slop of war, in which decoy diplomacy combines with military head-fakes to obscure the actual state of play.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
But a big economic structural shift can turn an obscure judgement into a real source of gains or losses.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 20, 2026
But all of that should not obscure Ohtani’s greatness as a player.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
Others, like the Marine Mammal Commission, are quite obscure.
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
But his shame seems to obscure any pleasure he might feel in her offer.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
Or as Folger’s artistic director, Janet Griffin, said to me one time, in reference to another of Shakespeare’s obscurer dramas, “Pericles”: “We are looking for what the play is saying to us today.”
From Washington Post ● Apr. 27, 2017
I suggested moving to an obscurer table in the rear.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 19, 2010
Even her obscurer books have something about them that attracts popular attention, for more than most stylists, she writes about the common gist of things.
From Time Magazine Archive
There he demanded one of the obscurer works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
From Time Magazine Archive
Epilepsy, in certain of its obscurer forms, is responsible for many conditions in which there is a sudden access of insane excitement of a violent, often very impulsive, character, though sometimes of very short duration.
From Essays In Pastoral Medicine by ?Malley, Austin
Feel grateful we live in a time when the obscurest, niche-iest, weirdest series you love got a chance to exist.
From Slate ● Dec. 20, 2018
Coetzee calls him "the obscurest of the obscure, so obscure as to be a prodigy."
From Time Magazine Archive
"The obscurest epoch is today," wrote Robert Louis Stevenson.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Rector of Graybridge had chosen one of the obscurest texts in St. Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews for his sermon that morning, and Isabel did not even try to understand him.
From The Doctor's Wife by Braddon, M. E. (Mary Elizabeth)
Rich and poor knelt together upon their marble pavements, and the imperial altar welcomed the obscurest artisan.
From Life Without and Life Within or, Reviews, Narratives, Essays, and poems. by Fuller, Margaret
The hagiographic tone of “The Man Will Burn” obscures that.
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
The result is a metaphysical model that, at best, lacks clarity, and at worst obscures the very nature of reality.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 8, 2026
Velvet wingback chairs flank a fireplace and a stained-glass window obscures the parking lot outside.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
This framing obscures the power imbalance between children seeking care and adults licensed to treat them.
From Slate ● Mar. 11, 2026
A thin Stand Of oak trees obscures the cornfields that stretch out to the horizon.
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
Embassy job that obscured his true position, CIA station chief.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
But levels of fine particulate matter spiked sharply during the main show, leaving people watching from the south with an obscured view as smoke came billowing their way.
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
LH 95 provides scientists with an exceptional opportunity to study stellar birth because it is both relatively nearby and less obscured by dust than similar star forming regions within the Milky Way.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 5, 2026
Notably, the set-up has been tweaked since the tour launched in Amsterdam last month, removing some of the 10 foot-high "bridges" that obscured some fans' views.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
There is a small silver plaque on the platform, partially obscured by the cascading gown.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Now, policies are seemingly directed at obscuring conditions in the for-profit facility operated by The GEO Group.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026
However, those same cold traps could also collect organic compounds released by visiting spacecraft, potentially obscuring the pristine material scientists hope to study.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 13, 2026
In total, more than 1.7 million satellites could soon be lighting up the night sky, obscuring or blotting out the view of ground-based telescopes.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Focusing only on individual loss risks obscuring the larger truth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2026
The motels are always far from anything, set against a dark wall of forest, their lights glimmering in the uniform obscuring night like those of ships, or oases.
From "Cat's Eye" by Margaret Atwood
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.
