obscure

adjective ob·scure \ äb-ˈskyu̇r , əb- \

|Updated on: 11 Jul 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: obscure in a Sentence

Definition of obscure

1 a : dark, dim

the obscure dusk of the shuttered room

b : shrouded in or hidden by darkness

standing obscure in the deepest shade

c : not clearly seen or easily distinguished : faint

obscure markings

2 : not readily understood or clearly expressed; also : mysterious

a slough of pretentious and obscure jargon
—Philip Howard

3 : relatively unknown: such as

a : remote, secluded

an obscure village

b : not prominent or famous

an obscure poet

4 : constituting the unstressed vowel \ə\ or having unstressed \ə\ as its value

—

obscurely

adverb

—

obscureness

noun

See obscure defined for English-language learners

See obscure defined for kids

Examples of obscure in a Sentence

Many people shared an obscure sense of gratification that [Dylan] Thomas had died young, as a poet should. —Adam Kirsch, New Yorker, 5 July 2004
But by 1830 the Boston Mission Board was desperate enough that it targeted an obscure sect of Oriental Christians, the Nestorians in faraway Iran, as a possibility for conversion. —Robert D. Kaplan, The Arabists, 1993
I knew they were special from their jeans and T-shirts, their knowing, ironic looks when obscure works of literature were referred to. —Julia Alvarez, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, 1991
Now at last Bacon could refer when he chose to his father's high position and his father's service—and no man could say it was done for self-aggrandizement, as a son who is obscure bespeaks the glory of past forebears. —Catherine Drinker Bowen, Francis Bacon, 1963
The movie is full of obscure references that only pop culture enthusiasts will understand.
The origins of the language are obscure.

Recent Examples of obscure from the Web

The other is a Japanese techno artist with a penchant for the obscure.

— annabel ross, Billboard, "Ten Things That Proved Sónar Barcelona Is a Music Festival Unlike Any Other," 21 June 2018
The upcoming season-ender’s trailer is filled with the kind of exciting, unsettling secrets that just might make the last 10 weeks of obscure, alienating television worth it.

— refinery29.com, "Here's Every Secret Hiding In The Westworld Finale Trailer," 18 June 2018
Behind the scenes, AT&T began paying $50,000 a month to an obscure limited liability company founded by Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen.

— felix gillette, Bloomberg.com, "Get Ready for Big Media to Get Bigger After AT&T Victory," 13 June 2018
Others are complicated conspiracy theories involving obscure figures like a couple of FBI agents.

— ryan teague beckwith, Time, "Read the 191 Arguments President Trump Has Made Against the Mueller Investigation," 7 June 2018
Hundreds of companies create data about people on the internet from Google to umpteen obscure little companies.

— alexis c. madrigal, The Atlantic, "Even Amid Scandal, Facebook Is Unstoppable," 1 May 2018
Cambridge probably didn’t use illicit Facebook data to help Trump Before the 2016 election, Cambridge Analytica was an obscure consulting company funded by the family of conservative hedge fund mogul—and Republican political donor—Robert Mercer.

— timothy b. lee, Ars Technica, "Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal, explained [Updated]," 20 Mar. 2018
In January the New York Times published a lengthy report on the business of buying and selling fake followers on social media, which focused on a single obscure American company named Devumi.

— emily stewart, Vox, "Banks have to know their customers. Shouldn’t Facebook and Twitter?," 19 Mar. 2018
All these accounts belong to customers of an obscure U.S. company named Devumi that has collected millions of dollars in a shadowy global marketplace for social-media fraud.

— mark hansen, The Seattle Times, "Paying to be popular: inside social media’s black market for fake followers," 27 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'obscure.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of obscure

Middle English, from Anglo-French oscur, obscur, from Latin obscurus

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

obscure Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of obscure

obscure, dark, vague, enigmatic, cryptic, ambiguous, equivocal mean not clearly understandable. obscure implies a hiding or veiling of meaning through some inadequacy of expression or withholding of full knowledge.

- obscure poems

dark implies an imperfect or clouded revelation often with ominous or sinister suggestion.

- muttered dark hints of revenge

vague implies a lack of clear formulation due to inadequate conception or consideration.

- a vague sense of obligation

enigmatic stresses a puzzling, mystifying quality.

- enigmatic occult writings

cryptic implies a purposely concealed meaning.

- cryptic hints of hidden treasure

ambiguous applies to language capable of more than one interpretation.

- an ambiguous directive

equivocal applies to language left open to differing interpretations with the intention of deceiving or evading.

- moral precepts with equivocal phrasing

obscure

verb ob·scure \ äb-ˈskyu̇r , əb- \

Definition of obscure

obscured; obscuring

transitive verb

1 : to make dark, dim, or indistinct

The soot on the lampshade obscured the light.

2 : to conceal or hide by or as if by covering

… snow on glaciers can obscure deep crevasses.
—Tom Simon

3 : to reduce (a vowel) to the value \ə\

—

obscuration

play \ˌäb-skyu̇-ˈrā-shən\ noun

See obscure defined for English-language learners

Examples of obscure in a Sentence

Throughout this book, the ground of fact becomes obscured entirely by a deep layer of speculative quicksand. —Helen Vendler, New Republic, 10 June 2002
But evening comes or even noon and some combination of nervous tensions obscures my memories of what whiskey costs me in the way of physical and intellectual well-being. —John Cheever, New Yorker, 13 Aug. 1990
… [Mr. Schuller's] … "Early Jazz" brought a sometimes Olympian precision to writing about an art that has often languished in the whale's belly of sociology, obscured by pretension and blubbery thinking. —Stanley Crouch, New York Times Book Review, 2 Apr. 1989
It was eight o'clock when we landed; we walked for a short time on the shore enjoying the transitory light, and then retired to the inn and contemplated the lovely scene of waters, woods, and mountains, obscured in darkness, yet still displaying their black outlines. —Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, Frankenstein, 1818
The true history has been obscured by legends about what happened.
They accused the company of trying to obscure the fact that the product poses a health risk.

Recent Examples of obscure from the Web

Without this mask, the star’s light would obscure planet PDS 70b — the bright circular blob to the right of the center.

— sarah gray, Fortune, "Watch Incredible, First-Ever Footage of a Planet Being Born," 5 July 2018
For example, a GQN can predict that a repeating pattern on the wall is likely to continue on the part of the wall obscured by other objects.

— timothy b. lee, Ars Technica, "Google researchers created an amazing scene-rendering AI," 29 June 2018
Oh, through the usual means of tricky double talk, obscuring the money trail, repeatedly screaming that the state owns too much land already and assuring voters that legislators know best.

— lauren ritchie, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Environment, voters score big win over contemptuous legislators," 29 June 2018
Moreover, that refrain obscures the difficult fact that King grew increasingly pessimistic in his final years, increasingly doubtful that history was predisposed to justice at all.

— jacob bacharach, The New Republic, "Don’t Count on History to Judge Wisely," 27 June 2018
Despite the enormous turnout, most attendees still obscured their faces or wore full-coverage masks for fear of being shamed online, according to BuzzFeed News.

— brooke bunce, Teen Vogue, "South Korean Women Protest "Spy-Cam Porn"," 12 June 2018
As with the novel, there's an underlying commentary about the idle rich and their brand of debauchery, barely obscured by the polished marble and fine linen.

— brian lowry, CNN, "Benedict Cumberbatch shines in Showtime's dark 'Patrick Melrose'," 11 May 2018
On some days, Aaron discovered, little of interest appeared on the screens, either because a blanket of clouds obscured visibility or because what was visible — goats grazing on an Afghan hillside, for instance — was mundane, even serene.

— New York Times, "The Wounds of the Drone Warrior," 13 June 2018
Still, the book resists leaning too heavily into social critique and obscuring those pictured in the process.

— hannah giorgis, The Atlantic, "Lorna Simpson Maps the Complex Galaxies of Black Women’s Hair," 10 June 2018

Origin and Etymology of obscure

see ¹obscure

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

obscure Synonyms

Synonyms

belie, blanket, blot out, cloak, conceal, cover, curtain, disguise, enshroud, hide, mask, occult, paper over, screen, shroud, suppress, veil;

Antonyms

bare, disclose, display, divulge, expose, reveal, show, uncloak, uncover, unmask, unveil;

Near Antonyms

bring out, present;

clarify, illuminate;

advertise, air, broadcast, get out, proclaim, publicize, publish, spread;

Related Words

bury, camouflage, cover (up), smother;

gild, gloss (over), varnish, whitewash;

becloud, bedim, befog, block, cloud, darken, eclipse, obstruct, occlude, overcast, overshadow, shade;

obscure

noun ob·scure \ äb-ˈskyu̇r , əb- \

Definition of obscure

: obscurity

Examples of obscure in a Sentence

… who shall … through the palpable obscure find out his uncouth way … ? —John Milton, Paradise Lost, 1667

Origin and Etymology of obscure

see ¹obscure

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1667

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

OBSCURE Defined for English Language Learners

obscure

adjective

Definition of obscure for English Language Learners

: not well-known : not known to most people
: difficult to understand : likely to be understood by only a few people
: difficult or impossible to know completely and with certainty

obscure

verb

Definition of obscure for English Language Learners

: to make (something) difficult to understand or know : to make (something) obscure
: to hide or cover (something) : to be in front of (something) so that it cannot be seen