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.
When it’s time for his favorite summer training activities, Klaebo can rollerski at altitude and run in obscurity, said Joe Davies, a cross-country skier who lives in the state and has trained with him.
"Aden has come from obscurity to take an American sport by storm," he said.
From BBC
Confusion and obscurity has surrounded the reopening of the Rafah crossing.
From BBC
Over more than two decades, he has taken the UFC from obscurity to an operation estimated to be worth more than $20 billion by parent TKO Group Holdings.
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
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.
