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obscure

/əbˈskjʊɹ/verb, adjective2 syllables

Obscure means: make less visible or unclear.

Synonyms for obscure48

verb, as in make less visible or unclear

befog, becloud, obnubilate, haze over, fog, cloud, mist

verb, as in make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing

blot out, obliterate, veil, hide, efface

verb, as in make unclear, indistinct, or blurred

confuse, blur, obnubilate, confound

verb, as in make unintelligible or unclear

bedim, overcloud

adjective, as in marked by difficulty of style or expression

dark, incomprehensible, uncomprehensible

adjective, as in not famous or acclaimed

unknown, unsung, inglorious

adjective, as in not drawing attention

unnoticeable, inconspicuous, invisible

adjective, as in remote and separate physically or socially

apart, isolated, unconnected

adjective, as in not clearly expressed or understood

adjective, as in difficult to find

also used for obscure

cimmerian, dingy, fuzzy, ill-defined, blear, caliginous, crepuscular, darksome, occluded, secluded, covered, dern, inward, latent, fathomless

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What does obscure mean?11

verb

1

make less visible or unclear“The stars are obscured by the clouds”

2

make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing“a hidden message”

3

make unclear, indistinct, or blurred“Her remarks confused the debate”

4

make unintelligible or unclear“The distinction was obscured”

5

reduce a vowel to a neutral one, such as a schwa

adjective

1

marked by difficulty of style or expression“much that was dark is now quite clear to me”

2

not famous or acclaimed“an obscure family”

3

not drawing attention“an unnoticeable cigarette burn on the carpet”

4

remote and separate physically or socially“existed over the centuries as a world apart”

5

not clearly expressed or understood“an obscure turn of phrase”

6

difficult to find“hidden valleys”

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

What rhymes with obscure?24

Show 40 near rhymes

Obscure in a sentence

  • At the time, he was an obscure writer.Miktsoanit
  • Fyodor stood in the shadows, his face obscured by the darkness.Amastan
  • The cause of the accident is still obscure.CM
  • For all his genius he is as obscure as ever.unknown
  • The reason why he left the tennis club is obscure.Dejo
  • There are some obscure points in his proposal.unknown
  • Much legal language is obscure to a layman.unknown
  • The real purpose of the law was enshrouded in layers of obscure terminology.danieljtah

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of obscure

as a verb

past tense
obscured
present participle
obscuring
third-person singular
obscures
past participle
obscured

as a adjective

comparative
obscurer
superlative
obscurest