What does obscure mean?
Obscure describes something that is difficult to understand because it involves unfamiliar ideas, specialist knowledge, or unclear expression. It can also mean that something is little known, noticed, or easily overlooked, as in an obscure artist or an obscure historical event. These senses overlap: a subject may be obscure because few people know it, because its meaning is hard to grasp, or both. As a verb, obscure means to conceal something from view or public attention. For example, a dense report may obscure an important distinction, while fog obscures the landscape. In general use, the word is formal and sometimes carries the implication that obscurity is undesirable, although artists and writers may deliberately value obscure or difficult work. Its historical connection with darkness and concealment gives it a broad figurative use whenever clarity, visibility, or public knowledge is at stake.
Difficult to understand or interpret; or little known, noticed, or easily found.
"The book is full of obscure technical terminology."
The intellectual sense and the “little known” sense are both common. A person may be obscure because their work is not widely known or because its subject matter is inaccessible.
To make something less visible, noticeable, or well known; also, to become hidden from view.
"The editorial was rewritten to obscure the source of the claim."
Often used with an object such as view, issue, detail, or fact. It is generally more formal than the everyday verb hide.
From the Latin obscurus, meaning “dark” or “hidden,” obscure began by describing what could not easily be seen and eventually came to describe what cannot easily be understood.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of obscure
The word entered English in the late Middle English period through Old French obscur, from Latin obscurus, meaning “dark,” “hidden,” or “unclear.” The same Latin root underlies obscurant, obscurantism, and obscurantist, words associated with deliberate obscurity or resistance to clarity and understanding. Over time, the word developed from its physical sense of being hidden into figurative senses involving difficult language, limited knowledge, and concealment.
Related word forms
How obscure is actually used
The adjective has two distinct senses: something can be obscure because it is intellectually difficult to understand or because it is little known. As a verb, obscure is more common in formal writing than in everyday speech and often means to conceal information, evidence, or an issue.
Easily confused with obscure
As an adjective, obscure describes something difficult to understand or little known; as a verb, it describes the act of hiding something from view or attention.