obscure

adjective

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ob·scure | \ äb-ˈskyu̇r

, əb- \

Definition of obscure

(Entry 1 of 3)

1a : 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

obscure

verb

ob·scure | \ äb-ˈskyu̇r

, əb- \

obscured; obscuring

Definition of obscure (Entry 2 of 3)

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\

obscure

noun

ob·scure | \ äb-ˈskyu̇r

, əb- \

Definition of obscure (Entry 3 of 3)

: obscurity

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Adjective

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

Examples of obscure in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective When a brand blocks these publishers, by contrast, its ads will only show up in less prestigious environments, funneling ad money toward the internet’s long tail of obscure, lower-quality sites. — Gilad Edelman, Wired, "She Helped Wreck the News Business. Here’s Her Plan to Fix It," 13 Aug. 2020 The fast dissemination of a single report from an obscure Ukrainian website to crowds of Facebook users highlights the ease with which pro-Russian websites can feed misinformation into American internet circles. — Amanda Seitz, Star Tribune, "Pro-Russia vaccine misinfo finds home in US Facebook groups," 7 Aug. 2020 The Lions’ winning ways don’t come from obscure tactical knowledge. — Julia Poe, orlandosentinel.com, "Orlando City calm, confident as it closes in on MLS tournament title," 7 Aug. 2020 But that list also includes obscure players with untapped potential, such as receiver Miles Marshall, center Harry Crider or defensive lineman Jonathan King. — Stefan Krajisnik, The Indianapolis Star, "IU football coach Tom Allen controls what he can today, believes it will lead to a better tomorrow," 6 Aug. 2020 In Japan, Abe’s government has been criticized for helping obscure the memory of Japan’s wartime acts, including removing some references from school textbooks. — Washington Post, "On atomic bomb anniversary, Hiroshima mayor is warning against ‘self-centered’ nationalism," 5 Aug. 2020 Recent episodes have included the Tuskegee Experiment, obscure cold cases, and the tragic murders of Elijah McClain and Vanessa Guillen. — Keely Weiss, Harper's BAZAAR, "17 True-Crime Podcasts for the Genre's Biggest Fans," 5 Aug. 2020 At the Valley Project, opt for the most obscure variety on offer, which might be Carignan or Counoise. — Matt Kettmann, SFChronicle.com, "Kunin: Never drink the same wine twice," 22 June 2020 But due to an obscure NCAA codicil, teams can keep their camp schedule start date (Aug. 7) based on the date of their original season opener. — Eric Hansen, The Indianapolis Star, "Notre Dame football has high ceiling, clear path to prove it with new ACC schedule," 31 July 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb White supremacists on the platform also used other methods to obscure their behavior and evade detection, the ADL said, such as by employing coded language or sharing images of books, signs or web URLs for viewers to research on their own. — Brian Fung, CNN, "Even TikTok has a white supremacy problem," 14 Aug. 2020 Too much compression, however, can obscure higher frequency tones and muffle deeper ones. — Benjamin Levin, CNN Underscored, "The best over-ear headphones of 2020," 12 Aug. 2020 But, the shadow of Big Wine has yet to obscure the Talbott tasting experience. — Chris Macias, SFChronicle.com, "Talbott: one of Monterey County’s flagship wine brands," 4 Aug. 2020 SecureDrop relies on Tor, an application designed to encrypt your communications and obscure your computer’s IP address. — NBC News, "SecureDrop," 1 July 2020 This placement isn’t just for ambiance; the sound of the rushing water overlaps with the frequency of the males’ calls and helps obscure them to hungry bats. — Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, "Illusionist Frog Attracts Mates Without Unwanted Attention From Predators," 7 May 2020 Broad daylight also helps obscure the sinister implications. — Matt Ford, The New Republic, "The Most Corrupt President in American History," 11 July 2020 His whinging, though, should not obscure the fact that Trump, yet again, has escaped to fight another day. — Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, "President Winning-by-Losing Is, in Fact, Losing," 9 July 2020 Public health experts say the mortality rates focus on a single point in time and shouldn’t obscure the fact that the virus is spreading at an alarming rate. — oregonlive, "COVID-19 survival rate improves significantly at local hospitals," 9 July 2020

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.