1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

obscureness

noun

Definition of obscurenessnext
as in ambiguity

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for obscureness
  1. ambiguity
  2. opacity
  3. murkiness
  4. obscurity
Noun
  • Freedom and fluidity create ambiguities that the historical record cannot always resolve.
    — Colleen Dulle, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026
  • Until they are written into law, the ambiguity will be worth a fortune to the principals who bet the cost lands somewhere else.
    — Bhaskar Chakravorti, Fortune, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of ambiguity
Noun
  • Johnson, who a near decade ago was a bubbly ingenue on the brink of superstardom, has since developed a reputation for a certain cool-girl deadpan opacity, a kind of mischievous remove during press appearances.
    — Alessandra Codinha, Vogue, 18 Sep. 2026
  • There’s an opacity around how the models are tested collectively and what the White House standards are for releasing.
    — Fortune Editors, Fortune, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of opacity
Noun
  • But the murkiness doesn’t last long in a production that achieves an admirable balance between objectivity and emotion, abstraction and representation.
    — Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Because of the legal murkiness, Pratte urges people to talk to an attorney before foregoing registration.
    — Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of murkiness
Noun
  • Tavares broke in before the age of social media, and in the relative obscurity of the Long Island market.
    — Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Her enormous catalog is full of fascinating obscurities, like her fuzz bass experiment on Elvis Presley’s title song for his 1970 film Change of Habit.
    — Al Shipley, SPIN, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of obscurity
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

obscurely
obscureness
obscures
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Obscureness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obscureness. Accessed 24 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of pundit

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All