ob·scu·ran·tism
äb-ˈskyu̇r-ən-ˌti-zəm 
əb-;
ˌäb-skyu̇-ˈran-
1
: opposition to the spread of knowledge : a policy of withholding knowledge from the general public
2
a
: a style (as in literature or art) characterized by deliberate vagueness or abstruseness
b
: an act or instance of obscurantism
ob·scu·ran·tist
əbzˈkyu̇rəntə̇st
äb-,
-bˈsk-;
ˌäbzkyəˈran-,
-bsk-
plural -s
: a practitioner of or believer in obscurantism
Examples of obscurantism in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Alex Ross, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
May these words allow to put a stop to this unbearable coercion and open, at last, a new era in Iran, and wherever women are victim of obscurantism.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 5 Oct. 2022
For 33 years, Salman Rushdie has embodied freedom and the fight against obscurantism.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2022
More troubling still, universities can get away with obscurantism and enforced ideological conformism because of their enormous power over labor markets.
—Joel Kotkin, National Review, 29 Mar. 2022
The history of its practice in Jerusalem presents a parade of eccentrics and fanatics, enlivened by obscurantism and riot.
—Dominic Green, WSJ, 17 Dec. 2021
Imbued with a sense of grandeur, France harks back to the Enlightenment to speak about fighting obscurantism in the world today and proffers its secular universalism as a model for modern societies.
—New York Times, 23 Sep. 2021
The authors, three legal academics and a celebrated economist, charge that the eurozone’s technocratic obscurantism and self-defeating tendency toward austerity exacerbate inequality, right-wing populism, and Euroskepticism.
—Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs, 12 Aug. 2019
Of course this institutionalized flight toward obscurantism is not limited to Jews.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 29 Jan. 2013
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Noun
In Weill’s opinion, composers educated in the classical tradition had lost touch with the broader public and sunk into obscurantism.
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
May these words allow to put a stop to this unbearable coercion and open, at last, a new era in Iran, and wherever women are victim of obscurantism.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 5 Oct. 2022
For 33 years, Salman Rushdie has embodied freedom and the fight against obscurantism.
—Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 15 Aug. 2022
More troubling still, universities can get away with obscurantism and enforced ideological conformism because of their enormous power over labor markets.
—Joel Kotkin, National Review, 29 Mar. 2022
The history of its practice in Jerusalem presents a parade of eccentrics and fanatics, enlivened by obscurantism and riot.
—Dominic Green, WSJ, 17 Dec. 2021
Imbued with a sense of grandeur, France harks back to the Enlightenment to speak about fighting obscurantism in the world today and proffers its secular universalism as a model for modern societies.
—New York Times, 23 Sep. 2021
The authors, three legal academics and a celebrated economist, charge that the eurozone’s technocratic obscurantism and self-defeating tendency toward austerity exacerbate inequality, right-wing populism, and Euroskepticism.
—Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs, 12 Aug. 2019
Of course this institutionalized flight toward obscurantism is not limited to Jews.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 29 Jan. 2013
Cite this Entry
“Obscurantism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obscurantism. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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