adjective
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easy to see or understand; evident
-
exhibiting motives, feelings, intentions, etc, clearly or without subtlety
-
naive or unsubtle
the play was rather obvious
-
obsolete being or standing in the way
Related Words
See apparent.
Other Word Forms
- nonobvious adjective
- nonobviously adverb
- nonobviousness noun
- obviously adverb
- obviousness noun
- overobvious adjective
- preobvious adjective
- preobviously adverb
- preobviousness noun
- unobvious adjective
- unobviously adverb
- unobviousness noun
Etymology
Origin of obvious
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin obvius “in the way, lying in the path,” equivalent to ob- ob- ( def. ) + vi(a) way 1 ( def. ) + -us, adjective suffix ( -ous ( def. ) )
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.
“In-housing more chip design is the most obvious lever for Apple to pull with respect to product gross margins and we think the 5G modem chip is the most likely candidate,” wrote Daryanani.
From Barron's
“In-housing more chip design is the most obvious lever for Apple to pull with respect to product gross margins and we think the 5G modem chip is the most likely candidate,” wrote Daryanani.
From Barron's
While metabolism has obvious energy costs tied to chemical reactions themselves, there is also an additional cost associated with guiding chemical activity along specific pathways.
From Science Daily
But she says those running fantasy leagues can use incentives to encourage players away from obvious or popular picks.
From BBC
“We know the disparities exist, but they become shockingly obvious,” said Char Miller, an environmental analysis professor at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif.
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.