arcane

adjective

ar·​cane är-ˈkān How to pronounce arcane (audio)
Synonyms of arcane
: known or knowable only to a few people : secret
arcane rites
an arcane ritual
broadly : mysterious, obscure
arcane explanations
arcane technical details

Examples of arcane in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Farley pointed out to Fortune that Ford’s ongoing restructuring involves launching an energy business and converting several factories in that direction, with workers now needing to learn arcane expertise such as lithium iron phosphate chemistry. Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 13 May 2026 In the summer of 2023, at the end of his third year of graduate school at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Ilango was growing increasingly interested in an arcane subfield of complexity theory called proof complexity. Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 11 May 2026 What is usually an arcane process has become an unprecedented political free-for-all. Cecilia Vega, CBS News, 10 May 2026 Winning those contests would grant players Legacy Tickets that would then be automatically converted to GALA using an arcane formula at the end of every day. ArsTechnica, 27 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for arcane

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin arcānus "secret, private, intimate," from arca "chest, coffer, box" + -ānus -an entry 2 — more at ark

First Known Use

1547, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of arcane was in 1547

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Cite this Entry

“Arcane.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arcane. Accessed 16 May. 2026.

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