as in esoteric
difficult for one of ordinary knowledge or intelligence to understand
geochemistry is a recondite subject
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Recent Examples of recondite
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
Pierre Boulez — like Bernstein, a composer, though in a more recondite modernist mode — innovated with repertory mixtures and concert formats.
—Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for recondite
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
Pierre Boulez — like Bernstein, a composer, though in a more recondite modernist mode — innovated with repertory mixtures and concert formats.
—Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 7 Feb. 2023
See All Example Sentences for recondite
Recent Examples of Synonyms for recondite
Adjective
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Unfortunately, tenure, even in the best schools, gets rewarded to professors who write articles filled with complex math or esoteric theories in sociology and psychology.—
Shivaram Rajgopal,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
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While the syntax of esoteric languages may be hard to understand, the actual programming stack is often wonderfully simple.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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By the time the credits roll, Sound of Metal avoids all of the tired clichés that typically come from this sort of low-budget undertaking, and achieves something more introspective and, much like the hardest and most profound journeys in life, unresolved.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
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The shift has profound implications in House districts across the country, seeping into Democratic primaries as a possible liability for more centrist members.—
David Sivak,
The Washington Examiner,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Recondite.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/recondite. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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