recondite

adjective

re·​con·​dite ˈre-kən-ˌdīt How to pronounce recondite (audio) ri-ˈkän- How to pronounce recondite (audio)
1
: difficult or impossible for one of ordinary understanding or knowledge to comprehend : deep
a recondite subject
2
: of, relating to, or dealing with something little known or obscure
recondite fact about the origin of the holidayFloyd Dell
3
: hidden from sight : concealed
reconditely adverb
reconditeness noun

Did you know?

Recondite is one of those underused but useful words that’s always a boon to one’s vocabulary. Though it describes something difficult to understand, there is nothing recondite about the word’s history. It dates to the early 1600s, when it was coined from the Latin word reconditus, the past participle of recondere, “to conceal.” (“Concealed” is also a meaning of recondite, albeit an obscure one today.) Remove the re- of recondite and you get something even more obscure: condite, an obsolete verb meaning both “to pickle or preserve” and “to embalm.” Add the prefix in- to that quirky charmer and we get incondite, which means “badly put together,” as in “incondite prose.” All three words have the Latin word condere at their root; that verb is translated variously as “to put or bring together” and “to put up or store”—as in, perhaps, some pickles or preserves.

Examples of recondite in a Sentence

geochemistry is a recondite subject
Recent Examples on the Web In retrospect, the integer distance problem was waiting for mathematicians who were willing to consider more unruly curves than hyperbolas and then draw on recondite tools from algebraic geometry and number theory to tame them. Quanta Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024 But a few key paragraphs within the 88-page filing mention the exclusion and social shaming of non-iPhone users confined inside green chat bubbles, distinguishing this case from some of the more recondite explanations of tech market competition in recent years. Lauren Goode, WIRED, 24 Mar. 2024 There are familiar words describing nature particular to the U.S., like prairie, skunk, coyote and chipmunk, but also more recondite ones, like catawba (a species of grape and type of sparkling wine), catawampous (fierce, destructive) and cottondom (the region in which cotton is grown). Sarah Ogilvie, WSJ, 11 Nov. 2023 Other efforts required more recondite statistical analysis. Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2023 See all Example Sentences for recondite 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'recondite.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin reconditus, past participle of recondere to conceal, from re- + condere to store up, from com- + -dere to put — more at com-, do

First Known Use

1619, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of recondite was in 1619

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Dictionary Entries Near recondite

Cite this Entry

“Recondite.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/recondite. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

recondite

adjective
re·​con·​dite ˈrek-ən-ˌdīt How to pronounce recondite (audio) ri-ˈkän- How to pronounce recondite (audio)
1
: hidden from sight
2
: difficult to understand : deep
a recondite subject

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