What does "recondite" mean?
A recondite (hidden or obscure) person or thing.
Recondite
/ˈɹɛk(ə)nˌdaɪt/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A recondite (hidden or obscure) person or thing.
- Grammar: recondite is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abstract, abstruse, abstruse, academic.
- Useful contrasts: accessible, clear, common.
- Usage evidence: The theories of relativity can seem recondite even for people who are well versed in the sciences.
How to use "recondite"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "recondite" 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 "recondite" 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 "recondite" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "recondite" 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 "recondite" is acting as adj, noun, 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 "abstract" 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 "recondite", 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
Noun
- 1 A recondite (hidden or obscure) person or thing. rare
"[T]he Duchess, and the dandies, and the member's wife and all the rest of their tribulations, were happily hidden from the view by the towering bouquets of the gold plateau vases at the head of the room. [...] A contra-dance after supper was felt to be a national duty; but behind those fatal vases a plot had already been concocted by the recondites for rewarding their previous self-denial, not by a quadrille, but a galoppe."
- 2 A scholar or other person who is recondite, that is, who has mastery over his or her field, including its esoteric minutiae. rare
"Here we have an uncommon acquaintance with the conditions of society in the mass, which, perhaps, some of our recondites would hardly be disposed to expect in the case of a man of a character so eminent and philosophical as [Dugald] Stewart, and addicted to studies removing him so far from the sphere of common mortals."
Verb
- 1 To conceal, cover up, hide. obsolete, rare, transitive
"Tendons: recondited, and hidde in their Muscle, as if they were in a purse imposed."
Adjective
- 1 Difficult, obscure.; Difficult to grasp or understand; abstruse, profound.
"a recondite tractate on alchemy"
- 2 Difficult, obscure.; Little known; esoteric, secret.
"[T]here was in the man much learning, and that of the more inward & recondit, a great Antiquary, and one that had a certain large poſſeſſion of Divine and Humane Lawes."
- 3 Difficult, obscure.; Having mastery over one's field, including its esoteric minutiae; learned.
"It is delightful to see this recondite scholar [Thomas Browne]—this contemplative and refining dreamer—in the centre of his happy nor unworthy household."
- 4 Difficult, obscure.; Deliberately employing abstruse or esoteric allusions or references; intentionally obscure.
"They afford a lesson to the modern metaphysical and recondite writers not to overvalue their works."
- 5 Hidden or removed from view. archaic
"The Eye is somewhat recondit betweene its Orbite."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Hidden or removed from view.; Difficult to see, especially because it is hidden by another structure. archaic, obsolete, rare
"Recondite, (aculeus) concealed within the abdomen, seldom exposed to view."
- 7 Hidden or removed from view.; Avoiding notice (particularly human notice); having a tendency to hide; shy. archaic, rare
"Animals of this class are so recondite in their habits... so little known to naturalists beyond the more common species."
Adjective
- 1 difficult to penetrate; incomprehensible to one of ordinary understanding or knowledge wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"The theories of relativity can seem recondite even for people who are well versed in the sciences."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "recondite"?
Common synonyms include: abstract, abstruse, abstruse, academic, arcane, arcane.
How do you use "recondite" in a sentence?
The theories of relativity can seem recondite even for people who are well versed in the sciences.
How do you pronounce "recondite"?
Pronounced /ˈɹɛk(ə)nˌdaɪt/.