1
as in esoteric
difficult for one of ordinary knowledge or intelligence to understand
grammatical rules that seem arcane to generations of students who were never taught grammar in the first place
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Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cryptic
having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning
the rebate form uses arcane language, the only purpose of which seems to be to disqualify buyers from actually getting a rebate
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in mysterious
being beyond one's powers to know, understand, or explain
my predecessor in this job obviously had his own arcane system for filing things, and so I haven't a clue as to where anything is
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of arcane
The arthouse references might sound arcane, but this is Chen’s most accessible and borderline commercial effort to date.
—
Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 16 Feb. 2026
Instead, an arcane academic skirmish has devolved into open hostilities.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
On his own album, Granli inhabits each song with an arcane spirit, careful to never derail his fragile mystery.
—H.d. Angel, Pitchfork, 6 Feb. 2026
Ultimately, Petitioners may, because of the arcane United States immigration system, return to their home country, involuntarily or by self-deportation.
—A.o. Scott, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for arcane
Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 16 Feb. 2026
Instead, an arcane academic skirmish has devolved into open hostilities.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
On his own album, Granli inhabits each song with an arcane spirit, careful to never derail his fragile mystery.
—H.d. Angel, Pitchfork, 6 Feb. 2026
Ultimately, Petitioners may, because of the arcane United States immigration system, return to their home country, involuntarily or by self-deportation.
—A.o. Scott, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for arcane
Recent Examples of Synonyms for arcane
Adjective
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Costs of jet fuel are spiraling, along with more esoteric commodities such as helium.—
Matt Peterson,
CNBC,
28 Mar. 2026
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That’s what notation makes possible — the esoteric.—
John Pavlus,
Quanta Magazine,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Simultaneously, the solo careers of fellow Pornographers Neko Case and Dan Bejar had begun to take flight—Case as maybe the greatest country torch singer of her generation, and Bejar in his cryptic Leonard Cohen-adjacent auteur mode as Destroyer.—
Elizabeth Nelson,
Pitchfork,
8 Apr. 2026
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There’s a mysterious new leader of EON (ExtraOrdinary Observation and Neutralization), according to a cryptic summary.—
Entertainment Weekly,
Entertainment Weekly,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The flyby lasted seven hours, during which the astronauts could enjoy views of the lunar surface previously unseen by human eyes, with about 21% of the moon’s mysterious far side illuminated by the sun from the crew’s perspective.—
Jacopo Prisco,
CNN Money,
7 Apr. 2026
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This April, readers have plenty of new books to look forward to, including a metafictional exploration of memory, a look at the effects of family vlogging and a mysterious depiction of gentrification in Brooklyn.—
Theara Coleman,
TheWeek,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Hurtling back toward Earth after a historic loop around the moon, Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman said naming a crater after his late wife, an idea his crewmates came up with before launch, was the most deeply profound moment of an already memorable flight.—
William Harwood,
CBS News,
9 Apr. 2026
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This series, based on a true story, explores the life of Molly Kochan (Michelle Williams), a woman living with terminal cancer who navigates her illness and childhood trauma, blending comedy and profound honesty in a way that challenges traditional narratives around death and sexuality.—
Hilary Lewis,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Obliterated it, which is not an ambiguous term.—
Brian Dakss,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2026
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Samuel Dic Sum Lai, a PhD candidate at the University of London, has dedicated his studies to chronicling the ambiguous history and culture of these restaurants.—
Sam Stone,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The mystic chords that bind us together matter more than any policy.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Mar. 2026
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Operating within those parameters, the mystic outlands trend extends to some of the world’s most mesmerizing corners.—
Nicole Kliest,
Vogue,
11 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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That 300-work show built on Walter Hopps’s legendary exhibition for the Pasadena Art Museum—held in 1963, at a time when Duchamp was still relatively obscure—and solidified the artist’s place in the canon.—
Alex Greenberger,
ARTnews.com,
8 Apr. 2026
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Piecing together information on Kia and the circumstance of his obscure death is difficult, but two weeks ago his mother said in a short clip that he was killed in an attack.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN Money,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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When will Connecticut wake up and finally understand that their beloved Blumenthal – and his uncanny infatuation with lawsuits and investigations – has single-handedly sabotaged the state’s chances of ever being seriously considered again for a professional sports franchise?—
Matthew Chudoba,
Hartford Courant,
7 Apr. 2026
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Their uncanny beauty lies in their bold maximalism.—
Megan Paetzhold,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
5 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Arcane.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/arcane. Accessed 13 Apr. 2026.
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