| / English Dictionary |
OBSCURE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Not clearly expressed or understood
Example:
vague...forms of speech...have so long passed for mysteries of science
Synonyms:
obscure; vague
Classified under:
Similar:
unclear (not clear to the mind)
Derivation:
obscureness; obscurity (the quality of being unclear or abstruse and hard to understand)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Marked by difficulty of style or expression
Example:
those who do not appreciate Kafka's work say his style is obscure
Synonyms:
dark; obscure
Classified under:
Similar:
incomprehensible; uncomprehensible (difficult to understand)
Derivation:
obscureness; obscurity (the quality of being unclear or abstruse and hard to understand)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Remote and separate physically or socially
Example:
an obscure village
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
unconnected (not joined or linked together)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Not drawing attention
Example:
an obscure flaw
Synonyms:
obscure; unnoticeable
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
inconspicuous; invisible (not prominent or readily noticeable)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Not famous or acclaimed
Example:
unsung heroes of the war
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
inglorious (not bringing honor and glory)
Derivation:
obscureness (the state of being humble and unimportant)
obscurity (an obscure and unimportant standing; not well known)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Difficult to find
Example:
an obscure retreat
Synonyms:
hidden; obscure
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
concealed (hidden on any grounds for any motive)
II. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they obscure ... he / she / it obscures
Past simple: obscured
Past participle: obscured
-ing form: obscuring
Sense 1
Meaning:
Make obscure or unclear
Example:
The distinction was obscured
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "obscure" is one way to...):
alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Sense 2
Meaning:
Make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing
Example:
a veiled threat
Synonyms:
blot out; hide; obliterate; obscure; veil
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "obscure" is one way to...):
alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)
Verb group:
efface; obliterate (remove completely from recognition or memory)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "obscure"):
mystify (make mysterious)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Sense 3
Meaning:
Reduce a vowel to a neutral one, such as a schwa
Classified under:
Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.
Hypernyms (to "obscure" is one way to...):
reduce (destress and thus weaken a sound when pronouncing it)
Domain category:
linguistics (the scientific study of language)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Sense 4
Meaning:
Make unclear, indistinct, or blurred
Example:
Their words obnubilate their intentions
Synonyms:
blur; confuse; obnubilate; obscure
Classified under:
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting
Hypernyms (to "obscure" is one way to...):
alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)
Verb group:
confound; confuse (mistake one thing for another)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "obscure"):
muddy (cause to become muddy)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Sense 5
Meaning:
Make less visible or unclear
Example:
the big elm tree obscures our view of the valley
Synonyms:
becloud; befog; cloud; fog; haze over; mist; obnubilate; obscure
Classified under:
Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling
Hypernyms (to "obscure" is one way to...):
conceal; hide (prevent from being seen or discovered)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "obscure"):
overshadow (cast a shadow upon)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s something
Context examples:
Scientists expect that many exoplanets would be similarly obscured.
(Sunsets on Titan reveal the complexity of hazy exoplanets, NASA)
They studied prion disease progression in the retina to see if they could discover additional details that might be obscured in the more complex structure of the brain.
(Retinal prion disease study redefines role for brain cells, National Institutes of Health)
The situation was obscured to Ruth.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
You—poor and obscure, and small and plain as you are—I entreat to accept me as a husband.
(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)
You won't see me, you'll be crying so hard that the thick fog round you will obscure the prospect.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
I do not think that the problem is a very obscure one, said the Professor; there can only be one explanation.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
Its etiology is obscure but it may be associated with toxic fumes, infection, and connective tissue disease.
(Cryptogenic Organizing Pneumonia, NCI Thesaurus)
His original reasons I know not; but his hatred is increased since your great success against Blefuscu, by which his glory as admiral is much obscured.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
On rare occasions, regional storms produce a dust haze that encircles the planet and obscures surface features beneath.
(Study Predicts Next Global Dust Storm on Mars, NASA)
Because WISE found that the obscured black holes are more clustered than the others, the researchers know those hidden black holes reside in galaxies with larger dark matter halos.
(NASA's WISE findings poke hole in black hole 'Doughnut' theory, NASA)
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