ob·scure ( b-sky r ,  b-)adj. ob·scur·er, ob·scur·est 1. Deficient in light; dark. 2. a. So faintly perceptible as to lack clear delineation; indistinct. See Synonyms at dark. b. Indistinctly heard; faint. c. Linguistics Having the reduced, neutral sound represented by schwa ( ).3. a. Far from centers of human population: an obscure village. b. Out of sight; hidden: an obscure retreat. 4. Not readily noticed or seen; inconspicuous: an obscure flaw. 5. Of undistinguished or humble station or reputation: an obscure poet; an obscure family. 6. Not clearly understood or expressed; ambiguous or vague: "an impulse to go off and fight certain obscure battles of his own spirit" (Anatole Broyard). See Synonyms at ambiguous. tr.v. ob·scured, ob·scur·ing, ob·scures 1. To make dim or indistinct: Smog obscured our view. See Synonyms at block. 2. To conceal in obscurity; hide: "Unlike the origins of most nations, America's origins are not obscured in the mists of time" (National Review). 3. Linguistics To reduce (a vowel) to the neutral sound represented by schwa ( ).n. Something obscure or unknown. [Middle English, from Old French obscur, from Latin obsc  rus; see (s)keu- in Indo-European roots.]ob·scure ly adv.ob·scure ness n. |
obscure
Adjective
1. not well-known: the concerts feature several obscure artists
2. not easily understood: the contracts are written in obscure language
3. unclear or indistinct
Verb
[-scuring, -scured]
1. to make unclear or vague; hide: no amount of bluster could obscure the fact that the prime minister had run out of excuses
2. to cover or cloud over [Latin obscurus dark]
obscuration n
obscurity n
obscurity n
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Verb | 1. | obscure - make less visible or unclear; "The stars are obscured by the clouds"; "the big elm tree obscures our view of the valley" conceal, hide - prevent from being seen or discovered; "Muslim women hide their faces"; "hide the money" overshadow - cast a shadow upon; "The tall tree overshadowed the house" |
| 2. | obscure - make unclear, indistinct, or blurred; "Her remarks confused the debate"; "Their words obnubilate their intentions" alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" confuse, confound - mistake one thing for another; "you are confusing me with the other candidate"; "I mistook her for the secretary" muddy - cause to become muddy; "These data would have muddied the prediction" | |
| 3. | obscure - make obscure or unclear; "The distinction was obscured" | |
| 4. | obscure - reduce a vowel to a neutral one, such as a schwa linguistics - the scientific study of language reduce - destress and thus weaken a sound when pronouncing it | |
| 5. | obscure - make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing; "a hidden message"; "a veiled threat" alter, change, modify - cause to change; make different; cause a transformation; "The advent of the automobile may have altered the growth pattern of the city"; "The discussion has changed my thinking about the issue" efface, obliterate - remove completely from recognition or memory; "efface the memory of the time in the camps" mystify - make mysterious; "mystify the story" | |
| Adj. | 1. | obscure - not clearly understood or expressed; "an obscure turn of phrase"; "an impulse to go off and fight certain obscure battles of his own spirit"-Anatole Broyard; "their descriptions of human behavior become vague, dull, and unclear"- P.A.Sorokin; "vague...forms of speech...have so long passed for mysteries of science"- John Locke unclear - not clear to the mind; "the law itself was unclear on that point"; "the reason for their actions is unclear to this day" |
| 2. | obscure - marked by difficulty of style or expression; "much that was dark is now quite clear to me"; "those who do not appreciate Kafka's work say his style is obscure" uncomprehensible, incomprehensible - difficult to understand; "the most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible"- A. Einstein | |
| 3. | obscure - difficult to find; "hidden valleys"; "a hidden cave"; "an obscure retreat" concealed - hidden on any grounds for any motive; "a concealed weapon"; "a concealed compartment in his briefcase" | |
| 4. |  obscure - not famous or acclaimed; "an obscure family"; "unsung heroes of the war"inglorious - not bringing honor and glory; "some mute inglorious Milton here may rest" | |
| 5. |  obscure - not drawing attention; "an unnoticeable cigarette burn on the carpet"; "an obscure flaw"inconspicuous, invisible - not prominent or readily noticeable; "he pushed the string through an inconspicuous hole"; "the invisible man" | |
| 6. | obscure - remote and separate physically or socially; "existed over the centuries as a world apart"; "preserved because they inhabited a place apart"- W.H.Hudson; "tiny isolated villages remote from centers of civilization"; "an obscure village" unconnected - not joined or linked together |
obscure
adjective 1. unknown, minor, little-known, humble, unfamiliar, out-of-the-way, unseen, lowly, unimportant, unheard-of, unsung, nameless, undistinguished, inconspicuous, unnoted, unhonoured, unrenowned << OPPOSITE famous
adjective 2. abstruse, involved, complex, confusing, puzzling, subtle, mysterious, deep, vague, unclear, doubtful, mystical, intricate, ambiguous, enigmatic, esoteric, perplexing, occult, opaque, incomprehensible, arcane, cryptic, unfathomable, recondite, clear as mud (informal) << OPPOSITE straightforward
adjective 3. unclear, hidden, uncertain, confused, mysterious, concealed, doubtful, indefinite, indeterminate << OPPOSITE well-known
adjective 4. indistinct, vague, blurred, dark, clouded, faint, dim, gloomy, veiled, murky, fuzzy, shadowy, cloudy, misty, hazy, indistinguishable, indeterminate, dusky, undefined, out of focus, ill-defined, obfuscated, indiscernible, tenebrous << OPPOSITE clear
Translations
obscure [əbˈskjuəʳ] adj (= little known) → unbekannt, obskur (= difficult to understand); unklar
vt (= obstruct, conceal) → verdecken
adj obscure [əbˈskjuə]
1 not clear; difficult to see an obscure corner of the library. duister, donker مُعْتِم мрачен tmavý obskur dunkel σκοτεινός, δυσδιάκριτος obscuro, oscuro, poco claro hämar تیره و تار hämyinen obscur מְעוּרפָּל अस्पष्ट nejasan homályos kabur dimmur, óljós oscuro はっきりしない (의미·발음 등이) 분명하지 않은 sunkiai pastebimas/įžiūrimas, tamsus tumšs; vāji apgaismots sukar difahami donker uklar, utydelig mroczny, niewidoczny obscuro obscur, întunecos неясный, скрытный; тёмный tmavý mračen mračan dunkel, skum ที่ไม่ชัดเจน belirsiz 暗的，朦朧的 похмурий, темний دھندلا، غير واضح tối; mờ mịt 暗的，朦胧的
2 not well-known an obscure author. obskure غَيْر مَشْهور، مَغْمور неизвестен málo známý ukendt unbekannt άγνωστος, άσημος obscuro vähetuntud گمنام tuntematon obscur לא יָדוּע अनजाना सा nepoznat ismeretlen tidak dikenal lítt þekktur oscuro 知られていない 이름없는, 눈에 띄지 않는 menkai žinomas mazpazīstams tdk terkenal weinig bekend ukjent, upåaktet nieznany obscuro obscur малоизвестный málo známy neznan nepoznat okänd ที่ไม่กระจ่าง tanınmamış 不引人注目的 невідомий غير معروف vô danh 不引人注目的
3 difficult to understand an obscure poem. vaag, onduidelik مُبْهَم، غامِض непонятен nejasný uforståelig schwierig δυσνόητος obscuro segane غیر قابل درک vaikeatajuinen obscur לא בָּרוּר अस्पष्ट, मुश्किल nerazumljiv zavaros sulit dipahami torráðinn oscuro 難解な 이해하기 어려운 sunkiai suprantamas, miglotas nesaprotams, miglains sukar difahami duister dunkel niejasny obscuro obscur непонятный nejasný nejasen nerazuman svårfattlig, dunkel คลุมเครือ anlaşılması zor 難解的 неясний, незрозумілий ناقابل فہم khó hiểu 难解的
v
to make obscure A large tree obscured the view. verduister, verdonker يَحْجُب затъмнявам (za)stínit skjule verbergen κρύβω, συγκαλύπτω ofuscar, obscurecer varjama نامشخص کردن؛ تار کردن peittää näkyvistä obscurcir לְהַסתִּיר रुकावट कर देना zaklanjati eltakar menghalangi hylja, skyggja á oscurare ぼかす 숨기다, 흐리게 하다 užstoti, (už)gožti aizsegt; aizēnot; aptumšot melindungi gedeeltelijk verboregn formørke, skjule zasłonić obstruir a ascunde vederii затемнять;заслонять zakryť zakriti zakloniti förmörka, fördunkla, skymma ปิดบัง gizlemek, örtmek 遮掩，使不明顯 неясний, незрозумілий حائل ہونا، چھپانا che khuất 遮掩，使不明显
adv obˈscurely
duistere, vae, onduidelike بِغُموض тъмно nezřetelně uforståeligt; skjult obskur σκοτεινά, δυσνόητα oscuramente hämaralt بطور مبهم epäselvästi obscurément בִּמעוּרפָּל अंधकारमयता से, घूमिलता से, प्रच्छन्नतापूर्वक, दुर्बोधतापूर्वक zaklonjeno, nejasno homályosan secara kabur óljóst, ógreinilega oscuramente あいまいに 불분명하게, 희미하게 neaiškiai neskaidri; miglaini dgn gaya yg sukar difahami duister uklart, utydelig, tilslørt niejasno obscuramente obscur темно; непонятно;смутно nezreteľne mračno mračno dunkelt, skumt อย่างมืดมัว anlaşılmaz bir şekilde 遮掩 неясно, незрозуміло مخفي انداز ميں che khuất 遮掩
n obˈscurity
duisternis, vaagheid, onduidelikheid, onbekendheid ظَلام، ظُلْمَه، غُموض тъмнина temnota uklarhed die Dunkelheit σκοτάδι, ασάφεια, αφάνεια oscuridad hämarus تاریکی؛ ابهام epämääräisyys obscurité אָפֵלָה अचर्चित होना, कठिनाई, अंधेरा skrovitost, skrivenost sötétség, homály kekaburan óskÿrleiki; torræðni oscurità あいまいさ 어둠, 애매, 무명의 처지 nežinia, nežinomybė, neaiškumas tumsa; neskaidrība; neziņa tdk dikenali duisterheid utydelighet; ubemerkethet mrok, zapomnienie, niejasność obscuridade obscuritate темнота; неясность;неизвестность temnota tema mračnost dunkel, svårfattlighet, obemärkthet ความไม่ชัดแจ้ง anlaşılmazlık 遮掩 темрява; неясність ابہام، دھندلاپن sự tối tăm; khó hiểu 遮掩
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