recondite

[ rek-uhn-dahyt, ri-kon-dahyt ]
See synonyms for recondite on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. dealing with very profound, difficult, or abstruse subject matter: a recondite treatise.

  2. beyond ordinary knowledge or understanding; esoteric: recondite principles.

  1. little known; obscure: a recondite fact.

Origin of recondite

1
1640–50; earlier recondit<Latin reconditus recondite, hidden (originally past participle of recondere to hide), equivalent to re-re- + cond(ere) to bring together (con-con- + -dere to put) + -itus-ite2

Other words for recondite

Opposites for recondite

Other words from recondite

  • rec·on·dite·ly, adverb
  • rec·on·dite·ness, noun
  • un·rec·on·dite, adjective

Words Nearby recondite

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use recondite in a sentence

  • The scheme of the pronouns is very complete, and provides for nearly all the recondite distinctions of person.

    The Indian in his Wigwam | Henry R. Schoolcraft
  • To develop truths so recondite there would be needed a knowledge of nature much greater than that which we have.

    Treatise on Light | Christiaan Huygens

British Dictionary definitions for recondite

recondite

/ (rɪˈkɒndaɪt, ˈrɛkənˌdaɪt) /


adjective
  1. requiring special knowledge to be understood; abstruse

  2. dealing with abstruse or profound subjects

Origin of recondite

1
C17: from Latin reconditus hidden away, from re- + condere to conceal

Derived forms of recondite

  • reconditely, adverb
  • reconditeness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012