as in clearness
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Recent Examples of obviousness
That’s the magic of cinema — the obviousness of showing someone in a setting, in a situation, that tells you something.
—
Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 15 May 2026
The obviousness with which Kreutzer introduces Elsa into this story as a foil is offset by the uncertainty of the character’s purpose.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 15 May 2026
On occasion, the obviousness of Nett’s references does pay off.
—Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 13 Mar. 2026
Based on the previews, however, the obviousness of her selection is going to come up soon, and based on her tenure on RHOBH, Lisa has never been good at deflecting the heat.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
Their love scene in the rain, while obviously less visually spectacular than in the film, plunges headlong into romantic cliches that manage to get the job done despite their obviousness.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2026
The tension is that the scientific evidence of a pervasive public-health problem caused directly by social media is nowhere near as strong as the popular feeling about its obviousness.
—Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 18 Dec. 2025
Though the dialogue does sometimes lapse into obviousness, the cast reliably sells it.
—Judy Berman, Time, 10 Dec. 2025
Non-obviousness means the invention wouldn’t be obvious – an easy tweak or routine step in the process – to a skilled person in the field based on existing knowledge.
—Lucy Xiaolu Wang, The Conversation, 23 Sep. 2025
Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 15 May 2026
The obviousness with which Kreutzer introduces Elsa into this story as a foil is offset by the uncertainty of the character’s purpose.
—David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 15 May 2026
On occasion, the obviousness of Nett’s references does pay off.
—Hattie Lindert, Pitchfork, 13 Mar. 2026
Based on the previews, however, the obviousness of her selection is going to come up soon, and based on her tenure on RHOBH, Lisa has never been good at deflecting the heat.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
Their love scene in the rain, while obviously less visually spectacular than in the film, plunges headlong into romantic cliches that manage to get the job done despite their obviousness.
—Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2026
The tension is that the scientific evidence of a pervasive public-health problem caused directly by social media is nowhere near as strong as the popular feeling about its obviousness.
—Kaitlyn Tiffany, The Atlantic, 18 Dec. 2025
Though the dialogue does sometimes lapse into obviousness, the cast reliably sells it.
—Judy Berman, Time, 10 Dec. 2025
Non-obviousness means the invention wouldn’t be obvious – an easy tweak or routine step in the process – to a skilled person in the field based on existing knowledge.
—Lucy Xiaolu Wang, The Conversation, 23 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obviousness
Noun
-
Wine-Coca conduces to mental activity and clearness, prevents fatigue and exhaustion, brings cheerfulness and sweet refreshing sleep.—
AJ Willingham,
AJC.com,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
In 2013 there was a lack of clarity from district officials around the intended outcomes of the school closures.—
Julia McWilliams,
The Conversation,
4 June 2026
-
The committee ultimately decided not to take formal action and to revisit the matter later this year, hopefully with clarity on whether the project qualifies for STAR bond funding and on whether the parties can reach an agreement on the land’s sale price.—
Sofi Zeman,
Kansas City Star,
4 June 2026
Noun
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If wrestling is so watchable thanks to its intelligibility—every appearance, utterance, and movement is so extreme that the point of the story cannot be misinterpreted—then the same can be said of many scenarios in KUWTK.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 May 2026
-
Much of it was lost to the audience, since reverberant amplification gave heroic heft to Blanchett’s voice at the cost of intelligibility.—
Classical Music Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Just as the latter’s elegant cursive lines eschewed legibility for pure, drunken expression, the former’s Auto-Tuned vocals form only the contours of words.—
James Gui,
Pitchfork,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Denilson Baniwa has argued that one of Indigenous art’s most effective instruments of resistance is disguise—the adoption of non-Indigenous forms to achieve legibility in white, institutional terms, while the actual logic resides elsewhere, unreadable to those the work isn’t intended for.—
María Carri,
Artforum,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Adjusting images before they are sent for matching – for example, changing brightness levels – can improve accuracy, too.—
Vijayan Asari,
The Conversation,
2 June 2026
-
The Danish band’s newfound brightness is apparent from the start, as the album opens with twinkling glockespiel.—
Brendan Hay,
SPIN,
2 June 2026
Noun
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The through-line across all of it – the music, the acting, the international stages – is a pair of principles Lo articulates with plainness.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
20 Mar. 2026
-
Maybe that’s because the interiors have a certain plainness — one that’s accurate to Georgian classicism but boring to Hollywood hotshots.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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How can the sense of an absolute union of all matter be reconciled with the endless multiplicity and distinctness of it?—
Christian Wiman,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
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However, a few hours with Air Riders reveals the nuance and depth of its gameplay, the distinctness of this flavor of racing game and its sensory, chaotic, and strategic appeal.—
Ryan Gaur,
Rolling Stone,
19 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Obviousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obviousness. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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