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[ UK /ɒbskjˈɔː/ ]
[ US /əbˈskjʊɹ/ ]
ADJECTIVE
  1. marked by difficulty of style or expression
    much that was dark is now quite clear to me
    those who do not appreciate Kafka's work say his style is obscure
  2. remote and separate physically or socially
    preserved because they inhabited a place apart
    tiny isolated villages remote from centers of civilization
    an obscure village
    existed over the centuries as a world apart
  3. not drawing attention
    an obscure flaw
    an unnoticeable cigarette burn on the carpet
  4. difficult to find
    an obscure retreat
    hidden valleys
    a hidden cave
  5. not famous or acclaimed
    an obscure family
    unsung heroes of the war
  6. not clearly expressed or understood
    their descriptions of human behavior become vague, dull, and unclear
    an obscure turn of phrase
    an impulse to go off and fight certain obscure battles of his own spirit
    vague...forms of speech...have so long passed for mysteries of science
VERB
  1. make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing
    a veiled threat
    a hidden message
  2. reduce a vowel to a neutral one, such as a schwa
  3. make obscure or unclear
    The distinction was obscured
  4. make less visible or unclear
    the big elm tree obscures our view of the valley
    The stars are obscured by the clouds
  5. make unclear, indistinct, or blurred
    Her remarks confused the debate
    Their words obnubilate their intentions

How To Use obscure In A Sentence

  • If this approach has a drawback, it is that the zealous pursuit of the founding principle—disinterring the buried life, stamped under the sod by conniving male partners—sometimes obscures the fact that not a great deal gets added to the wider cultural landscape it is bent on illuminating. A Far From Model Marriage
  • Philips is also exploring the potential of applying LED to help 'declutter' city streets increasingly obscured by a variety of elements, including lighting fixtures. WebWire | Recent Headlines
  • The highly textured surface of these poems does not, however, obscure the continuous emotional undercurrent.
  • Only Bartoli could have made best-selling albums out of obscure arias by Scarlatti, Vivaldi and Gluck.
  • This initially meant they were loath to adopt a reportage style, preferring empty streets and unobscured buildings, with people represented only to provide an area of scale or as pure portraiture.
  • Unless a member of the Vanguard or the Scarlet Scholars (both groups paying attention to what most consider obscure and nigh-useless knowledge), even most paranormal agents active today have only heard of the Bleak Baron Frederick or his granduncle Wolfgang and their works on fighting monsters. The Codex Continual » The Von Baurs
  • White cap set her up long hair and half of his face is obscured, but felt she must be very beautiful, breathtaking beauty!
  • From its reputation as a cure-all, comes the obscure name of the plant ‘tutsan’ which is a corruption of the French La toute-saine - meaning ‘all-heal’.
  • So much the better if you have a cache of slightly obscure references that you can dispense, especially if these bear only tangential relationship to what you are discussing.
  • Men have been unwearied in their efforts to obscure the plain, simple meaning of the Scriptures, and to make them contradict their own testimony; but like the ark upon the billowy deep, the word of God outrides the storms that threaten it with destruction. The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan
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