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   obscure

   /əbˈskjʊə/

   adjective

   • 1. not discovered or known about; uncertain: "his origins and parentage are obscure" Similar unclearuncertainunknownin doubtdoubtfuldubiousmysterioushazyvagueindeterminateconcealedhidden
   • ▪ not important or well known: "a relatively obscure actor" Similar little knownunknownunheard ofundistinguishedinsignificantunimportantinconsequentialinconspicuousunnoticednamelessanonymousminorhumblelowlyunrenownedunsungunrecognizedunhonouredingloriousforgottenOpposite famousrenowned
   • 2. not clearly expressed or easily understood: "obscure references to Proust" Similar abstrusereconditearcaneesotericrecherchéoccultenigmaticmystifyingpuzzlingperplexingbafflingambiguouscrypticequivocalDelphicoracularriddlingobliqueopaqueellipticalunintelligibleuninterpretableincomprehensibleimpenetrableunfathomableinexplicableunexplainedinformal:as clear as mudOpposite clearplain
   • ▪ hard to define; vague: "I feel an obscure resentment" Similar indistinctfaintvagueill-definedunclearblurredblurrymistyhazyfoggyveiledcloudycloudednebulousfuzzydarkdimunlitblackmurkysombregloomyshadyshadowyliterary:duskytenebrousdarklingcrepuscularrare:caliginousCimmerianOpposite distinct
   • ▪ dark or dim: "the obscure light of dawn"

   verb

   • 1. keep from being seen; conceal: "grey clouds obscure the sun" Similar hideconcealcoverveilshroudscreenmaskcloakcast a shadow overshadowenvelopmantleblockblock outblank outobliterateeclipseovershadowliterary:enshroudbedimbenightrare:obnubilateadumbrateOpposite reveal
   • ▪ make unclear and difficult to understand: "the debate has become obscured by conflicting ideological perspectives" Similar confusecomplicateobfuscatecloudblurmuddymuddy the watersliterary:becloudbefogOpposite clarifyilluminate
   • ▪ keep from being known: "none of this should obscure the skill and perseverance of the workers"

   Word Origin late Middle English: from Old French obscur, from Latin obscurus ‘dark’, from an Indo-European root meaning ‘cover’.

   Derivatives

   • 1. obscurely adverb

   Scrabble Points: 11

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   • B

     3

   • S

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   • C

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   • U

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   • R

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   • E

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