obscurer

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia.

ob·scure

(ŏb-skyo͝or′, əb-)

adj. ob·scur·er, ob·scur·est

1. Deficient in light; dark: the obscure depths of a cave.

a. So faintly perceptible as to lack clear delineation; indistinct: an obscure figure in the fog.

b. Indistinctly heard; faint.

c. Linguistics Having the reduced, neutral sound represented by schwa (ə).

a. Far from centers of human population: an obscure village.

b. Out of sight; hidden: an obscure retreat.

4. Not readily noticed or seen; inconspicuous: an obscure flaw.

5. Of undistinguished or humble station or reputation: an obscure poet; an obscure family.

6. Not clearly understood or expressed; ambiguous or vague: Some say that Blake's style is obscure and complex. See Synonyms at ambiguous.

tr.v. ob·scured, ob·scur·ing, ob·scures

1. To make dim, indistinct, or impossible to see: "His face was obscured in shadow" (Rosemary Mahoney). See Synonyms at block.

2. To make difficult to discern mentally or understand: The meaning of the text was obscured by its difficult language.

3. To diminish the stature of; overshadow or detract from: "[His] character was so repellent that it has obscured his historical role" (David Rains Wallace).

4. Linguistics To reduce (a vowel) to the neutral sound represented by schwa (ə).

Something obscure or unknown.

[Middle English, from Old French obscur, from Latin obscūrus; see (s)keu- in Indo-European roots.]

ob·scure′ly adv.

ob·scure′ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Mentioned in ?

ignotum per ignotius

References in classic literature ?

Ethan, consumed with the longing for a last moment alone with Mattie, hung about impatiently while Denis made an ineffectual search in the obscurer corners of the store.

View in context

If he would light upon any of these old places, he must direct his steps to the obscurer quarters of the town, and there in some secluded nooks he will find several, still standing with a kind of gloomy sturdiness, amidst the modern innovations which surround them.

View in context

KINGS PARKTo fit obscurer mesh to inside of grid mesh to bin stores and increase in height at The Old Tennis Pavilion, 21 Park Avenue FK8 2FA for Mr CraigWilkie.

planning

A landscape where an artist's work must align with a certain tone, aesthetic and sensibility or they may find themselves on the margins, growing obscurer by the day, as a conveyor belt moves a production line of safer, politer and more palatable alternatives into place for the public's passive consumption.

Whiff of hypocrisy around outpouring of grief for Tom

they are not going to do the plaintiff's research and try to discover whether there might be something to say against the defendants' reasoning." (104) Though Posner has acknowledged that pro se litigants should be advised by a judge "concerning some of the obscurer pitfalls of legal procedure," (105) in one opinion, he emphasized that

Posner Tackles the Pro Se Prisoner Problem: A Book Review of Reforming the Federal Judiciary

P (13) [...] has been wading through The Ballad of the White Horse for the last many nights; and my efforts to explain the obscurer parts to her convince me that it is not as good as I thought.