obscurity
Americannoun
plural
obscurities-
the state or quality of being obscure.
-
the condition of being unknown.
He lived in obscurity for years before winning acclaim.
-
uncertainty of meaning or expression; ambiguity.
-
an unknown or unimportant person or thing.
-
darkness; dimness; indistinctness.
noun
-
the state or quality of being obscure
-
an obscure person or thing
Other Word Forms
- nonobscurity noun
Etymology
Origin of obscurity
1470–80; late Middle English < Middle French obscurite < Latin obscūritās, equivalent to obscūr ( us ) obscure + -itās -ity
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.
There’s something to be said for the virtue of relegating important works to a period of obscurity to turbo-charge the excitement of rediscovery.
From Los Angeles Times
The War Between the Land and the Sea follows Barclay, played by Russell Tovey, as he's plucked from obscurity to become humanity's ambassador when the Sea Devils rise to the surface.
From BBC
The New York Times’ crossword is synonymous with its current editor, Will Shortz, who gave the puzzle a refresh in the 1990s, jettisoning academic jargon and obscurities in favor of layered puns and pop-culture references.
From Los Angeles Times
It’s a vision that feels almost Edenic: two creations living in sunlit obscurity, eating fruit from the trees, sleeping on beds of leaves, wanting nothing more than to be left alone.
From Salon
Rather than ushering the victim to the next life, this shunts him further into obscurity and ignominy.
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.
