- ob|scure
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–adj.1. not clearly expressed; hard to understand: »
an obscure passage in a book.
2. not expressing meaning clearly: »an obscure style of writing. This obscure saying baffled him (Arnold Bennett).
3. a) not well known; attracting no notice: »an obscure little village, an obscure poet, an obscure job in the government.
SYNONYM(S): unknown, inconspicuous. b) not prominent; humble: »a person of obscure lineage; ... this obscure family of ours (Benjamin Franklin).
SYNONYM(S): undistinguished.5. not distinct; not clear: »an obscure shape, obscure sounds. I had only an obscure view of the battle.
6. a) dark; dim; murky: »an obscure corner. Obscurest night involv'd the sky (William Cowper).
SYNONYM(S): dusky, gloomy. b) hidden by darkness: »Thus wrapp'd in mist of midnight vapour glide obscure (Milton).
7. indefinite: »an obscure brown, an obscure vowel.
–v.t.1. to make obscure; hide from view; dim; darken: »mountains obscured by mists. Clouds obscure the sun.
SYNONYM(S): eclipse, conceal, shroud, veil, cloak, mask.2. to make dim or vague to the understanding: »His difficult style obscures his meaning.
3. Phonetics. to make (a vowel) central or neutral in quality.–v.i.to conceal from knowledge: »This language…serves not to elucidate, but to disguise and obscure (John S. Mill).
–n.obscurity; darkness: »a…feeling as though a palpable obscure had dimmed the face of things (Charles Lamb).
╂[< Middle French obscur < Old French oscur, learned borrowing from Latin obscūrus]–ob|scure´ly, adverb.–ob|scure´ness, noun.–ob|scur´er, noun.Synonym Study adjective. 1 Obscure, vague, ambiguous, equivocal mean not clearly expressed or understood. Obscure suggests that the meaning of something is hidden either because it is not plainly expressed or because the reader or hearer lacks the necessary knowledge to understand it: »o a layman much legal language is obscure.
Vague suggests that the meaning or statement is too general or not clearly and completely thought out: »No one can be sure what that vague statement means.
Ambiguous means so expressed that either of two meanings is possible: »“She kissed her when she left” is an ambiguous statement.
Equivocal suggests a conscious effort to confuse by allowing conflicting interpretations: »The candidate was a master of the equivocal statement which tended to satisfy everyone.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.
