What does "obscure" mean?
To render obscure; to darken; to make dim; to keep in the dark; to hide; to make less visible, intelligible, legible, glorious, beautiful, or illustrious.
Obscure
/əbˈskjʊə(ɹ)/ adj, verb
adj, verb ·Top 500 ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To render obscure; to darken; to make dim; to keep in the dark; to hide; to make less visible, intelligible, legible, glorious, beautiful, or illustrious.
- Grammar: obscure is listed as adj, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: hidden, unknown, abstruse, academic language chaos.
- Useful contrasts: respectable, transparent, academic clarity.
- Usage evidence: May I ask a few more questions about that point? It's a little obscure.
How to use "obscure"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "obscure" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "obscure" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "obscure" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "obscure" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "obscure" is acting as adj, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "hidden" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "obscure", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To render obscure; to darken; to make dim; to keep in the dark; to hide; to make less visible, intelligible, legible, glorious, beautiful, or illustrious. transitive
"They are all couched in a pit hard by Herne's oak, with obscured lights."
- 2 make unintelligible or unclear wordnet
- 3 To hide, put out of sight etc. transitive
"It has been little altered over the years save for the addition of a platform awning which rather obscures the arcaded entrance to the booking hall."
- 4 make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing wordnet
- 5 To conceal oneself; to hide. intransitive, obsolete
"How! There's bad news. / I must obscure, and hear it."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 reduce a vowel to a neutral one, such as a schwa wordnet
- 7 make unclear, indistinct, or blurred wordnet
- 8 make less visible or unclear wordnet
Adjective
- 1 Dark, faint or indistinct.
"I found myself in an obscure wood."
- 2 Hidden, out of sight or inconspicuous.
"The obscure bird / Clamoured the livelong night."
- 3 Difficult to understand; abstruse.
"an obscure passage or inscription; The speaker made obscure references to little-known literary works."
- 4 Not well-known.
"Of all the medical monsters Peter Hotez could have set out to slay, the Yale University researcher could not have chosen a more wily and obscure villain than the hookworm."
- 5 Unknown or uncertain; unclear.
"The etymological roots of the word "blizzard" are obscure and open to debate."
Adjective
- 1 not clearly expressed or understood wordnet
- 2 marked by difficulty of style or expression wordnet
- 3 remote and separate physically or socially wordnet
- 4 not drawing attention wordnet
- 5 not famous or acclaimed wordnet
Show 1 more definition
- 6 difficult to find wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"May I ask a few more questions about that point? It's a little obscure."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "obscure"?
Common synonyms include: hidden, unknown, abstruse, academic language chaos, addling, adiaphanous.
How do you use "obscure" in a sentence?
May I ask a few more questions about that point? It's a little obscure.
How do you pronounce "obscure"?
Pronounced /əbˈskjʊə(ɹ)/.
Etymology
From Middle English obscure, from Old French obscur, from Latin obscūrus (“dark, dusky, indistinct”), from ob- + *scūrus, from Proto-Italic *skoiros, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₃-. Doublet of oscuro.