obscurity

[uhb-skyoor-i-tee]

noun

plural

obscurities 

1. the state or quality of being obscure.

2. the condition of being unknown.

   He lived in obscurity for years before winning acclaim.

3. uncertainty of meaning or expression; ambiguity.

4. an unknown or unimportant person or thing.

5. darkness; dimness; indistinctness.

obscurity

/ əbˈskjʊərɪtɪ /

noun

1. the state or quality of being obscure

2. an obscure person or thing

Other Word Forms

• nonobscurity noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of obscurity¹

1470–80; late Middle English < Middle French obscurite < Latin obscūritās, equivalent to obscūr ( us ) obscure + -itās -ity

Example Sentences

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.

Read more on 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.

Read more on Salon

Rather than ushering the victim to the next life, this shunts him further into obscurity and ignominy.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

But if anti-Muslim bigotry dominated the five boroughs, Mr. Mamdani, a proud Muslim, wouldn’t have come from obscurity to national prominence.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

And “The Godfather,” the No. 1 box office hit of 1972, plucked Keaton from stage obscurity to give the fledgling screen actor its crucial final shot, a close-up.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• darkness