The meaning of Obscure

adjective

Difficult to understand; obscure.

Usage examples:

An abstruse philosophical inquiry

adjective

Not known or understood by many people

Usage examples:

An abstruse philosophical essay

verb

Represent in outline.

Usage examples:

Hobhouse had already adumbrated the idea of a welfare state

verb

To give only the main facts and not the details about something, especially something that will happen in the future

Usage examples:

The project's objectives were adumbrated in the report.

adjective

Open to more than one interpretation; not having one obvious meaning.

Usage examples:

Ambiguous phrases

adjective

Understood by few; mysterious or secret.

Usage examples:

Arcane procedures for electing people

adjective

Impossible to understand; perplexing.

Usage examples:

The crime is a baffling mystery for the police

verb

Totally bewilder or perplex.

Usage examples:

An unexplained occurrence that baffled everyone

verb

Cause to become dim.

Usage examples:

A slight cloud would bedim the sky

noun

A large solid piece of hard material, especially rock, stone, or wood, typically with flat surfaces on each side.

Usage examples:

A block of marble

verb

Make the movement or flow in (a passage, pipe, road, etc.) difficult or impossible.

Usage examples:

The narrow roads were blocked by cars

verb

Obstruct

noun

A sleeveless outdoor overgarment that hangs loosely from the shoulders.

Usage examples:

He threw his cloak about him

verb

Dress in a cloak.

Usage examples:

They sat cloaked and hooded

noun

A loose outer piece of clothing without sleeves that fastens at the neck and hangs from the shoulders

Usage examples:

The agents operate under a cloak of secrecy., the deal was cloaked in secrecy.

verb

Not allow to be seen; hide.

Usage examples:

A line of sand dunes concealed the distant sea

verb

To prevent something from being seen or known about; to hide something

Usage examples:

He made no attempt to conceal his satisfaction.

verb

To not tell somebody about something that they have the right to know about

Usage examples:

Do not conceal health problems from a prospective insurer.

adjective

Kept secret; hidden.

Usage examples:

A concealed weapon

verb

Not allow to be seen; hide.

Usage examples:

A line of sand dunes concealed the distant sea

adjective

Kept hidden or where it cannot easily be seen

Usage examples:

The robbery had been recorded on a concealed security camera., he was carrying a concealed weapon.,…

verb

Put something on top of or in front of (something), especially in order to protect or conceal it.

Usage examples:

The table had been covered with a checked tablecloth

noun

A thing which lies on, over, or around something, especially in order to protect or conceal it.

Usage examples:

A seat cover

verb

To put or spread something over something, or to lie on the surface of something

Usage examples:

Once the rice comes to a boil, turn down the flame and cover the pot., she covered the child with a…

adjective

Having a meaning that is mysterious or obscure.

Usage examples:

He found his boss's utterances too cryptic

adjective

Mysterious and difficult to understand

Usage examples:

A cryptic message/remark

adjective

Relating to the ancient greek sanctuary (= holy place) at delphi, or the oracle (= female priest) who gave advice there

Usage examples:

Croesus, king of lydia, asked the delphic oracle if he should attack persia., a delphic pronounceme…

adjective

Feeling uncertain about something.

Usage examples:

He looked doubtful, but gave a nod

adjective

Uncertain or unlikely

Usage examples:

[ + (that) clause ] it was doubtful (that) the money would ever be found., she gave me a long, doub…

adjective

Used to describe debts or accounts that are unlikely to be paid

Usage examples:

The company has established an allowance for doubtful accounts based on the credit risk of specific…

adjective

Hesitating or doubting.

Usage examples:

I was rather dubious about the whole idea

adjective

Probably not true or not completely true; doubtful

Usage examples:

The team had the dubious distinction of ranking 31st in the league., a dubious character

noun

An obscuring of the light from one celestial body by the passage of another between it and the observer or between it and its source of illumination.

Usage examples:

An eclipse of the sun

verb

(of a celestial body) obscure the light from or to (another celestial body).

Usage examples:

Jupiter was eclipsed by the moon

noun

A period of time when the light from an object in the sky cannot be seen because another object has come between you and it

Usage examples:

The state of the economy has eclipsed all other issues during the election campaign.

adjective

(of speech or writing) using or involving ellipsis, especially so as to be difficult to understand.

Usage examples:

Elliptical colloquial exchanges

adjective

Shaped like an ellipse

adjective

Difficult to interpret or understand; mysterious.

Usage examples:

He took the money with an enigmatic smile

adjective

Mysterious and impossible to understand completely

Usage examples:

The mona lisa has a famously enigmatic smile., he left an enigmatic message on my answering machine.

verb

Envelop completely and hide from view.

Usage examples:

Heavy grey clouds enshrouded the city

verb

To cover something so that it cannot be seen clearly

Usage examples:

Be enshrouded in the planet venus is enshrouded in thick clouds., the whole affair was enshrouded i…

verb

Wrap up, cover, or surround completely.

Usage examples:

A figure enveloped in a black cloak

verb

To cover or surround something completely

Usage examples:

The entire area was enveloped in fog.

adjective

Open to more than one interpretation; ambiguous.

Usage examples:

The equivocal nature of her remarks

adjective

(of statements) unclear and seeming to have two opposing meanings, or (of actions or ways of behaving) confusing and able to be understood in two different ways

Usage examples:

She gave an equivocal response.

adjective

Intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest.

Usage examples:

Esoteric philosophical debates

adjective

Intended for or understood by only a few people who have special knowledge

Usage examples:

Literary readings can sometimes seem esoteric, but we are trying to make them more attractive to mo…

adjective

Covered by a haze.

Usage examples:

It was a beautiful day but quite hazy

adjective

Past participle of hide1.

verb

Put or keep out of sight.

Usage examples:

He hid the money in the house

adjective

Used to describe costs that are not normally included in the original price of something, or are not normally considered when judging something

Usage examples:

Hidden charges/costs/extras, hidden fees/penalties, there are the hidden costs of climate change th…

verb

Put or keep out of sight.

Usage examples:

He hid the money in the house

noun

A camouflaged shelter used to observe wildlife at close quarters.

Usage examples:

We expect the camera crew to sit patiently in a camouflaged hide, waiting for the wildlife to wande…

noun

The skin of an animal, especially when tanned or dressed.

Usage examples:

We'll skin them right here and preserve their hides

adjective

Not exactly known, established, or defined.

Usage examples:

The carpet is an indeterminate dull shade

adjective

Not clearly determined or established

Usage examples:

Juvenile criminals are sometimes sentenced to indeterminate prison terms rather than a fixed length…

noun

A loose sleeveless cloak or shawl, worn especially by women.

Usage examples:

She was wrapped tightly in her mantle

verb

Cloak or envelop.

Usage examples:

Heavy mists mantled the forested slopes

noun

Variant spelling of mantel.

noun

A covering for all or part of the face, worn as a disguise, or to amuse or frighten others.

Usage examples:

Even the tots wore their costumes and enjoyed the fun, peering through their grotesque masks, and f…

verb

A covering made of fibre or gauze and fitting over the nose and mouth to protect against air pollutants, or made of sterile gauze and worn to prevent infection of the wearer or (in surgery) of the patient.

noun

A covering for all or part of the face, worn for protection or to hide the face

Usage examples:

A gas mask, an exhibit of african masks, the children all wore halloween masks that were supposed t…

adjective

Difficult or impossible to understand, explain, or identify.

Usage examples:

His colleague had vanished in mysterious circumstances

adjective

Strange, not known, or not understood

Usage examples:

She's an actress whose inner life has remained mysterious, despite the many interviews she has give…

adjective

Utterly bewildering or perplexing.

Usage examples:

A mystifying phenomenon

verb

Utterly bewilder or perplex (someone).

Usage examples:

I was completely mystified by his disappearance

adjective

Very strange or impossible to explain

Usage examples:

After ten years her mystifying disappearance was still unexplained., the film tells the strange and…

adjective

Neither parallel nor at right angles to a specified or implied line; slanting.

Usage examples:

We sat on the settee oblique to the fireplace

noun

Another term for slash1 (sense 2 of the noun).

verb

Destroy utterly; wipe out.

Usage examples:

The memory was so painful that he obliterated it from his mind

verb

Darken or cover with or as if with a cloud; obscure.

Usage examples:

Never to be short of illusions, to obnubilate himself: such was his dream

noun

Mystical, supernatural, or magical powers, practices, or phenomena.

Usage examples:

A secret society to study alchemy and the occult

adjective

Involving or relating to mystical, supernatural, or magical powers, practices, or phenomena.

Usage examples:

An occult ceremony

verb

Cut off from view by interposing something.

Usage examples:

A wooden screen designed to occult the competitors

adjective

Not able to be seen through; not transparent.

Usage examples:

Bottles filled with a pale opaque liquid

noun

An opaque thing.

Usage examples:

To be honest, it's a relief when summer is over and we can get back into good old black opaques, wh…

adjective

(of a substance) preventing light from traveling through, and therefore not allowing you to see through it

Usage examples:

Opaque watercolors, the majority of readers found his poetry difficult, even opaque.

adjective

Relating to an oracle.

Usage examples:

The oracular shrine

adjective

Mysterious and difficult to understand, but probably wise

Usage examples:

An oracular statement

verb

Tower above and cast a shadow over.

Usage examples:

An enormous oak tree stood overshadowing the cottage

verb

To cause someone or something to seem less important or noticeable

Usage examples:

Karen has always been overshadowed by her older sister.

adjective

Completely baffling; very puzzling.

Usage examples:

A perplexing problem

verb

Make (someone) feel completely baffled.

Usage examples:

She was perplexed by her husband's moodiness

adjective

Confusing, often because you do not know how to solve something

Usage examples:

They find the company's attitude perplexing and unreasonable., the rise in childhood mental illness…

adjective

Causing one to be puzzled; perplexing.

Usage examples:

Only one very puzzling question remains unanswered

verb

Cause (someone) to feel confused because they cannot understand something.

Usage examples:

She was puzzled by the doctor's manner

adjective

Difficult to explain or understand

Usage examples:

It's a rather puzzling film., a puzzling situation

adjective

Rare, exotic, or obscure.

Usage examples:

A few linguistic terms are perhaps a bit recherché for the average readership

adjective

(of a subject or knowledge) little known; abstruse.

Usage examples:

The book is full of recondite information

adjective

Not known about by many people and difficult to understand

Usage examples:

We had to work from material that was both complex and recondite.

adjective

Speaking or expressed in riddles; enigmatic.

Usage examples:

The riddling sphinx

verb

Speak in or pose riddles.

Usage examples:

He who knows not how to riddle

verb

Make many holes in (someone or something), especially with gunshot.

Usage examples:

His car was riddled by sniper fire

noun

A fixed or movable upright partition used to divide a room, give shelter from draughts, heat, or light, or to provide concealment or privacy.

Usage examples:

The special branch man remained hidden behind the screen for prosecution witnesses

verb

Conceal, protect, or shelter (someone or something) with a screen or something forming a screen.

Usage examples:

Her hair swung across to screen her face

noun

A flat surface in a theater, on a television, or on a computer system on which pictures or words are shown

Usage examples:

I spend most of the day working in front of a computer screen., her ambition is to write for the sc…

noun

A dark area or shape produced by a body coming between rays of light and a surface.

Usage examples:

Trees cast long shadows

verb

Short for eyeshadow.

noun

An area of darkness caused when light is blocked by something, usually in a shape similar to the object that is blocking the light

Usage examples:

[ c ] chloë kept jumping on tyler’s shadow., [ u ] this corner of the room is always in shadow., [ …

noun

A length of cloth or an enveloping garment in which a dead person is wrapped for burial.

Usage examples:

He was buried in a linen shroud

verb

Wrap or dress (a body) in a shroud for burial.

Usage examples:

The body was washed and shrouded

adjective

Not able to be relied on; not known or definite.

Usage examples:

An uncertain future

adjective

Unclear, or not sure

Usage examples:

She faces an uncertain future., we’re uncertain of the cause of death., [ u ] they live in uncertai…

adjective

Not easy to see, hear, or understand.

Usage examples:

The motive for this killing is unclear

adjective

Not obvious or easy to see or know

Usage examples:

[ + question word ] it’s unclear what actually happened that night., i’m unclear about a couple of …

adjective

Not known or familiar.

Usage examples:

Exploration into unknown territory

noun

An unknown person or thing.

Usage examples:

She is a relative unknown

verb

Erase the memory or knowledge of (something, typically something unpleasant or distasteful).

Usage examples:

Once you have information about what’s in your genes, you can’t unknow it

adjective

Of uncertain, indefinite, or unclear character or meaning.

Usage examples:

Many patients suffer vague symptoms

adjective

Not clearly stated, described, or explained, or not clearly seen or felt

Usage examples:

She had a vague feeling that something had gone terribly wrong., i have only a vague memory of the …

noun

A piece of fine material worn by women to protect or conceal the face.

Usage examples:

A white bridal veil

verb

A membrane which is attached to the immature fruiting body of some toadstools and ruptures in the course of development, either ( universal veil ) enclosing the whole fruiting body or ( partial veil ) joining the edges of the cap to the stalk.

noun

A piece of thin material worn to protect or hide the face or head

Usage examples:

The bride wore a veil made of french lace., fig. a veil of secrecy surrounded the appointment of th…