obscurantism

[ uhb-skyoor-uhn-tiz-uhm, ob-skyoo-ran-tiz-uhm ]

/ əbˈskyʊər ənˌtɪz əm, ˌɒb skyʊˈræn tɪz əm /

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See synonyms for: obscurantism / obscurantisms / obscurantist on Thesaurus.com

opposition to the increase and spread of knowledge.

deliberate obscurity or evasion of clarity.

QUIZZES

In effect, this quiz will prove whether or not you have the skills to know the difference between “affect” and “effect.”

Question 1 of 7

The rainy weather could not ________ my elated spirits on my graduation day.

First recorded in 1825–35; from German Obscurantismus, or French obscurantisme; see origin at obscurant, -ism

ob·scu·rant·ist, noun, adjective

Their scepticism about Universals thus overleapt itself, and fell on the other side, into obscurantist ecclesiasticism.
The Outline of History: Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind|Herbert George Wells
He thinks that the motives of Shi Hwang-ti were obscurantist.
The Outline of History: Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind|Herbert George Wells
Without it religion becomes bigoted, faith obscurantist, and ceremony superstitious.
Philo-Judaeus of Alexandria|Norman Bentwich
No one can venture to dispute these decisions on pain of being reckoned reactionary and obscurantist.
The Relations between the Laws of Babylonia and the Laws of the Hebrew Peoples|C. H. W. Johns

This deficiency played into the hands of the reactionary and obscurantist.
Reconstruction in Philosophy|John Dewey