obscure

Formsobscures, obscuring, obscured

1. 1
   little knownadjective

   Not well known; heard of by few people.

   The prize went to an obscure poet who had published only in small magazines.

   He spent ten years researching one of the most obscure composers of the eighteenth century.

   UsageMore obscure and most obscure are much more common than obscurer and obscurest.

   Similarunknown, little-known, forgotten, minor

   Oppositefamous, well-known, renowned, prominent

   Note

   Fame is the measure here, not light: an obscure poet is easy enough to see and simply hard to have heard of.

2. 2
   verbtransitive

   To hide something or make it dark or dim, or to make it less visible, understandable, legible or glorious.

   Heavy fog obscured the runway lights, and several flights were delayed.

   Long footnotes and side issues obscure the report's main argument.

   UsageOften passive with by: obscured by fog, obscured by detail.

   Similarhide, conceal, cloud, blur, mask

   Oppositereveal, clarify, expose

   Note

   The verb runs from light to meaning. In Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor a party lies in wait by Herne's oak with obscured lights, lights concealed so they will not be seen; William Wake, in his Preparation for Death, finds a duty obscured in the writings of learned men. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • William Shakespeare wrote The Merry Wives of Windsor. gutenberg.org
   • The play describes a party waiting near Herne's oak with obscured lights. gutenberg.org
   • William Wake's Preparation for Death describes a duty obscured in learned men's writings. en.wiktionary.org
3. 3
   adjective

   Not clear; difficult to understand, explain, or know for certain.

   The cause of the fire remains obscure, though investigators suspect faulty wiring.

   How the painting ended up in a farmhouse attic is still obscure.

   UsageCommon patterns include remains obscure, is still obscure, and for reasons that are still obscure.

   Similarunclear, uncertain, unknown, mysterious, murky

   Oppositeclear, plain, obvious, evident

   Note

   It can fault the telling, as in an obscure passage, but more often it marks a gap in knowledge, where the facts themselves are missing, however clearly anyone writes about them.

4. 4
   hidden awayadjective

   Not readily visible, whether concealed or simply easy to overlook.

   The spare key was kept in an obscure crack behind the drainpipe.

   The rebels made their camp in an obscure fold of the hills where no patrol would spot it.

   Similarhidden, secluded, remote, inconspicuous

   Oppositeconspicuous, prominent, visible

   Note

   Older writing uses it freely for what lies out of view: John Davies of Hereford's obscure corners of the earth, or the obscure bird that clamors all night in Macbeth. Today it sits so close to the little-known sense that an obscure village can be read either way, tucked out of sight or merely unheard of, and only the context tells which. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

   • John Davies of Hereford used the phrase “the obscure corners of the earth.” en.wiktionary.org
   • Macbeth contains a reference to an “obscure bird” clamoring all night; Lennox speaks the lines. shakespeare.mit.edu
5. 5
   dimadjective

   Dark or dim, or faint and hard to make out.

   In the obscure light of the storeroom, she could barely read the labels.

   An obscure figure stood at the far end of the platform, half lost in the steam.

   Similardim, murky, shadowy, indistinct, faint

   Oppositebright, clear, distinct

   Note

   Said of light itself it now has a literary ring, the voice of the King James Bible of 1611, with its obscure darkness, and of Denton Jaques Snider's Dante, lost in an obscure wood. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • The King James Bible was first published in 1611. en.wikisource.org
   • The King James Bible contains the phrase obscure darkness, in Proverbs 20:20. en.wikisource.org
   • The wording an obscure wood is attributed to Denton Jaques Snider's rendering of Dante's Inferno. en.wiktionary.org

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