obscure

American  

[uhb-skyoor] / əbˈskyʊər /

adjective

obscurer, obscurest

1. (of meaning) not clear or plain; ambiguous, vague, or uncertain.

   an obscure sentence in the contract.

   Synonyms:

   dubious, doubtful

   Antonyms:

   certain

2. not clear to the understanding; hard to perceive.

   obscure motivations.

3. (of language, style, a speaker, etc.) not expressing the meaning clearly or plainly.

4. indistinct to the sight or any other sense; not readily seen, heard, etc.; faint.

   Synonyms:

   veiled

   Antonyms:

   clear

5. inconspicuous or unnoticeable.

   the obscure beginnings of a great movement.

6. of little or no prominence, note, fame, or distinction.

   an obscure French artist.

   Synonyms:

   unknown, undistinguished

   Antonyms:

   conspicuous, noted

7. far from public notice, worldly affairs, or important activities; remote; retired.

   an obscure little town.

   Synonyms:

   inconspicuous, secluded

8. lacking in light or illumination; dark; dim; murky.

   an obscure back room.

   Synonyms:

   somber, shadowy, dusky

   Antonyms:

   bright

9. enveloped in, concealed by, or frequenting darkness.

10. not bright or lustrous; dull or darkish, as color or appearance.

11. (of a vowel) having the reduced or neutral sound usually represented by the schwa (ə).

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verb (used with object)

obscured, obscuring

1. to conceal or conceal by confusing (the meaning of a statement, poem, etc.).

2. to make dark, dim, indistinct, etc.

3. to reduce or neutralize (a vowel) to the sound usually represented by a schwa (ə).

noun

1. obscurity.

obscure British  

/ ˌɒbskjʊˈreɪʃən, əbˈskjʊə /

adjective

1. unclear or abstruse

2. indistinct, vague, or indefinite

3. inconspicuous or unimportant

4. hidden, secret, or remote

5. (of a vowel) reduced to or transformed into a neutral vowel ( ə )

6. gloomy, dark, clouded, or dim

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verb

1. to make unclear, vague, or hidden

2. to cover or cloud over

3. phonetics to pronounce (a vowel) with articulation that causes it to become a neutral sound represented by ( ə )

noun

1. a rare word for obscurity

Related Words

See mysterious. See dark.

Other Word Forms

• obscuration noun
• obscuredly adverb
• obscurely adverb
• obscureness noun
• subobscure adjective
• subobscureness noun
• unobscure adjective
• unobscured adjective
• unobscureness noun

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.

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, debris from the earlier supernova could obscure the view, hiding the kilonova within it.

From Science Daily • Apr. 24, 2026

Ten years ago, these reanimation stunts were nutty and obscure enough to shoot down with ease.

From Slate • Apr. 23, 2026

Under an obscure bit of the law - section three of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act, if you are really interested - ministers do not have powers over security vetting.

From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026

Last summer, firms were able to raise tens of billions of dollars if they rebranded themselves as crypto-treasury companies to purchase bitcoin and more obscure cryptocurrencies.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

If she wants to use obscure European words for everything to feel better about living here, then she can.

From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King

Related Words

• belie
• blind
• block out
• blur
• camouflage
• cloud
• confuse
• cover
• darken
• dim
• disguise
• eclipse
• mask
• misrepresent
• muddy
• overshadow
• shroud
• veil