1
as in ambiguous
having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning
a fantasy writer who likes to put lots of obscure references and images in her tales of wizards and warlocks
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in unknown
not widely known
he's an obscure artist now, but he's sure to be famous someday
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3
as in darkened
being without light or without much light
hid in an obscure spot among the trees
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4
as in vague
not seen or understood clearly
a distinction so obscure that only the experts can really see it
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to conceal
to keep secret or shut off from view
the investigative reporters obscured their real motives for visiting the company by pretending the story was about something else
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2
as in to blur
to make dark, dim, or indistinct
when it isn't obscured by smog, the view of the city from the observatory can be spectacular
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of obscure
Ben Adler, USA Today, 2 Nov. 2025
Even then, though, the path is obscure.
—Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025
Ed Masley, AZCentral.com, 4 Nov. 2025
The video screen split into panels that lifted up and down throughout the show, always obscuring a large part of the stage.
—Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for obscure
Adjective
Like the 44th president, Mamdani has seen a precipitous rise to high office after just a few years as an obscure state legislator.
—Ben Adler, USA Today, 2 Nov. 2025
Even then, though, the path is obscure.
—Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025
Verb
Clear bags may not have obscured interior pockets.
—Ed Masley, AZCentral.com, 4 Nov. 2025
The video screen split into panels that lifted up and down throughout the show, always obscuring a large part of the stage.
—Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for obscure
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obscure
Adjective
-
With stunning celerity, possibility becomes probability and then certainty, as readers reject the quiet, circuitous, and unglamorous narratives of prudential compromise, ambiguous diplomacy, or incremental progress.—
Elizabeth D. Samet,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Ibsen’s choice to use Hedda’s maiden name for the play speaks to her resistance to the strong presence of men in her life; DaCosta’s choice to remove the surname entirely speaks to a rejection of patriarchal identity, replaced with an ambiguous void that Hedda herself doesn’t know how to fill.—
Rory Doherty,
Time,
29 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
At this time, the containment status is unknown and the cause of the fire remains undetermined.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
12 Nov. 2025
-
While the exact details of the deal are unknown, it was reported that Sony made an initial $25 million profit from producing the film for Netflix.—
Dylan Butts,
CNBC,
11 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
By becoming the light in a darkened world, everyone becomes a firefly that helps to illuminate the way back home to each other.—
Sergio Pereira,
Space.com,
29 Oct. 2025
-
Over the weekend, around 16,000 people paid their respects to the designer at his funeral chamber at the Armani Teatro designed by Tadao Ando, filled with white flowers and paper lanterns on the floor in a diagonal grid formation dimly lit up the darkened venue.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
If things are left too loosey-goosey and vague, that can result in mixed expectations within your organization.—
Kathleen Walch,
Fortune,
11 Nov. 2025
-
That precise sensation—a vague disquietude, a vexation—is central to the band’s distinctiveness.—
Amanda Petrusich,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Christina Leona Cowens, 41, was initially arrested last week on suspicion of felony grand theft, along with misdemeanor counts of unlawful disposal of human remains and attempting to conceal a death.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
11 Nov. 2025
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People get in the bathtub, think something, bathe themselves and then stand up from the bathwater, all of this is rather ordinary, but even the most ordinary thing in this world can conceal considerable danger.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Much of the film’s drama then ensues inside Teddy and Don’s basement like a pseudo chamber piece as captor and captive face off in a battle of wits, logic and strange faith that blurs the lines between divisive politics, conspiracy and cosmic truth.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Nov. 2025
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What starts as a cathartic process spirals out-of-control, as the line between justice and madness blurs.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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In recent weeks, fans expressed concern after Spears posted dancing videos but opted to turn off comments on posts that had cryptic captions about her kids, Jayden James, 19, and Sean Preston, 20.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
8 Nov. 2025
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Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones dropped a cryptic hint that a blockbuster trade was coming, and after the team acquired linebacker Logan Wilson from the Cincinnati Bengals, many fans and analysts criticized Jones for overdelivering.—
Michael Gallagher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Velardo’s whereabouts were murky when he was charged in the two investigations in March, 2013.—
Karen Wang,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
-
But when the two leading figures behind the coup – RSF chief Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, and Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in charge of the SAF – began fighting each other, the foreign powers had to choose whom to support – and their involvement became even murkier.—
Ivana Kottasová,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Obscure.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obscure. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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