obscure as a verb: - 1
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- 5
as an adjective: - 1
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obscure
verb
1 obscure
Make less visible or unclear:
— The stars are obscured by the clouds.
— The big elm tree obscures our view of the valley.
synonyms: becloud, befog, cloud, fog, haze over, mist, obnubilate.
Roget 874:
be inglorious
etc.
adj.;
incur disgrace
etc.
n.;
have a bad name,
earn a bad name;
put a halter round one's neck,
wear a halter round one's neck;
disgrace oneself,
expose oneself.
play second fiddle;
lose caste;
pale one's ineffectual fire;
recede into the shade;
fall from one's high estate;
keep in the background
etc.
(modesty)
881;
be conscious of disgrace
etc.
(humility)
879;
look blue,
look foolish,
look like a fool;
cut a poor figure,
cut a sorry figure;
laugh on the wrong side of the mouth;
make a sorry face,
go away with a flea in.
one's ear,
slink away.
cause shame
etc.
n.;
shame,
disgrace,
put to shame,
dishonor;
throw dishonor upon,
cast dishonor upon,
fling dishonor upon,
reflect dishonor upon
etc.
n.;
be a reproach
etc.
n..
to;
derogate from.
tarnish,
stain,
blot sully,
taint;
discredit;
degrade,
debase,
defile;
beggar;
expel
etc.
(punish)
972.
impute shame to,
brand,
post,
stigmatize,
vilify,
defame,
slur,
cast a slur upon,
hold up to shame,
send to Coventry;
tread under foot,
trample under foot;
show up,
drag through the mire,
heap dirt upon;
reprehend
etc.
932.
bring low,
put down,
snub;
take down a peg,
take down a peg lower,
take down a peg or two.
obscure.
eclipse,
outshine,
take the shine out of;
throw into the shade,
cast into the shade;
overshadow;
leave in the background,
put in the background;
push into a corner,
put one's nose out of joint;
put out,
put out of countenance.
upset,
throw off one's center;
discompose,
disconcert;
put to the blush
etc.
(humble)
879.
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Roget 431:
be black
etc.
adj.;
render black
etc.
adj..
blacken,
infuscate†,
denigrate;
blot,
blotch;
smutch†;
smirch;
darken
etc.
421.
black,
sable,
swarthy,
somber,
dark,
inky,
ebony,
ebon,
atramentous†,
jetty;
coal-black,
jet-black;
fuliginous†,
pitchy,
sooty,
swart,
dusky,
dingy,
murky,
Ethiopic;
low-toned,
low in tone;
of the deepest dye.
black as jet
etc.
n.,
black as my hat,
black as a shoe,
black as a tinker's pot,
black as November,
black as thunder,
black as midnight;
nocturnal
etc.
(dark)
421;
nigrescent†;
gray
etc.
432;
obscure
etc.
421.
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Dutch: bewolken, misten, nevelen
2 obscure
3 obscure
Make obscure or unclear:
— The distinction was obscured.
synonyms: bedim, overcloud.
Roget 422:
be dim,
grow dim
etc.
adj.;
flicker,
twinkle,
glimmer;
loom,
lower;
fade;
pale,
pale its ineffectual fire
[Hamlet].
render dim
etc.
adj.;
dim,
bedim†,
obscure;
darken,
tone down.
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Roget 421:
be dark
etc.
adj..
darken,
obscure,
shade;
dim;
tone down,
lower;
overcast,
overshadow;
eclipse;
obfuscate,
offuscate†;
obumbrate†,
adumbrate;
cast into the shade becloud,
bedim†,
bedarken†;
cast a shade,
throw a shade,
spread a shade,
cast a shadow,
cast a gloom,
throw a shadow,
spread a shadow,
cast gloom,
throw gloom,
spread gloom.
extinguish;
put out,
blow out,
snuff out;
doubt.
turn out the lights,
douse the lights,
dim the lights,
turn off the lights,
switch off the lights.
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4 obscure
Reduce a vowel to a neutral one, such as a schwa.
5 obscure
adjective
1 obscure
Not clearly expressed or understood:
— An obscure turn of phrase.
— An impulse to go off and fight certain obscure battles of his own spirit.
synonym: vague.
Roget 876:
ignoble,
common,
mean,
low,
base,
vile,
sorry,
scrubby,
beggarly;
below par;
no great shakes
etc.
(unimportant)
643;
homely,
homespun;
vulgar,
low-minded;
snobbish.
plebeian,
proletarian;
of low parentage,
of low origin,
of low extraction,
of mean parentage,
of mean origin,
of mean extraction;
lowborn,
baseborn,
earthborn†;
mushroom,
dunghill,
risen from the ranks;
unknown to fame,
obscure,
untitled.
rustic,
uncivilized;
loutish,
boorish,
clownish,
churlish,
brutish,
raffish;
rude,
unlicked†.
barbarous,
barbarian,
barbaric,
barbaresque†;
cockney,
born within sound of Bow bells.
underling,
menial,
subaltern.
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Roget 571:
obscure
etc.
n.;
crabbed,
involved,
confused.
Roget 874:
disgraced
etc.
v.;
blown upon;
shorn of its beams"
[Milton],
shorn of one's glory;
overcome,
downtrodden;
loaded with shame
etc.
n.;
in bad repute
etc.
n.;
out of repute,
out of favor,
out of fashion,
out of countenance;
at a discount;
under a cloud,
under an eclipse;
unable to show one's face;
in the shade,
in the background;
out at elbows,
down at the elbows,
down in the world.
inglorious;
nameless,
renownless†;
obscure;
unknown to fame;
unnoticed,
unnoted†,
unhonored,
unglorified†.
shameful;
disgraceful,
discreditable,
disreputable;
despicable;
questionable;
unbecoming,
unworthy;
derogatory;
degrading,
humiliating,
infra dignitatem [Lat.],
dedecorous†;
scandalous,
infamous,
too bad,
unmentionable;
ribald,
opprobrious;
errant,
shocking,
outrageous,
notorious.
ignominious,
scrubby,
dirty,
abject,
vile,
beggarly,
pitiful,
low,
mean,
shabby base
etc.
(dishonorable)
940.
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2 obscure
Marked by difficulty of style or expression:
— Those who do not appreciate Kafka's work say his style is obscure.
synonym: dark.
Roget 519:
unintelligible,
unaccountable,
undecipherable,
undiscoverable,
unknowable,
unfathomable;
incognizable†,
inexplicable,
inscrutable;
inapprehensible†,
incomprehensible;
insolvable†,
insoluble;
impenetrable.
illegible,
as Greek to one,
unexplained,
paradoxical;
enigmatic,
enigmatical,
puzzling
(secret)
533;
indecipherable.
obscure,
dark,
muddy,
clear as mud,
seen through a mist,
dim,
nebulous,
shrouded in mystery;
opaque,
dense;
undiscernible
etc.
(invisible)
447†;
misty
etc.
(opaque)
426;
hidden
etc.
528;
latent
etc.
526.
indefinite,
garbled
etc.
(indistinct)
447;
perplexed
etc.
(confused)
59;
undetermined,
vague,
loose,
ambiguous;
mysterious;
mystic,
mystical;
acroamatic†,
acroamatical†;
metempirical;
transcendental;
occult,
recondite,
abstruse,
crabbed.
inconceivable,
inconceptible†;
searchless†;
above comprehension,
beyond comprehension,
past comprehension;
beyond one's depth;
unconceived.
inexpressible,
undefinable,
incommunicable.
unpredictable,
unforeseeable.
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Roget 447:
invisible,
imperceptible;
undiscernible†,
indiscernible;
unapparent,
non-apparent;
out of sight,
not in sight;
a perte de vue [Fr.];
behind the scenes,
behind the curtain;
viewless,
sightless;
inconspicuous,
unconspicuous†;
unseen
etc.
(see)
etc.
441;
covert
etc.
(latent)
526;
eclipsed,
under an eclipse.
dim
etc.
(faint)
422;
mysterious,
dark,
obscure,
confused;
indistinct,
indistinguishable;
shadowy,
indefinite,
undefined;
ill-defined,
ill-marked;
blurred,
fuzzy,
out of focus;
misty
etc.
(opaque)
426;
delitescent†.
hidden,
obscured,
covered,
veiled
(concealed)
528.
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Roget 421:
dark,
darksome†,
darkling;
obscure,
tenebrious†,
sombrous†,
pitch dark,
pitchy,
pitch black;
caliginous†;
black
etc.
(in color)
431.
sunless,
lightless
etc.
(sun)
(light),
etc.
423;
somber,
dusky;
unilluminated
etc.
(illuminate)
etc.
420†;
nocturnal;
dingy,
lurid,
gloomy;
murky,
murksome†;
shady,
umbrageous;
overcast
etc.
(dim)
422;
cloudy
etc.
(opaque)
426;
darkened;
etc.
v..
dark as pitch,
dark as a pit,
dark as Erebus [Lat.].
benighted;
noctivagant†,
noctivagous†.
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3 obscure
Difficult to find:
— An obscure retreat.
synonym: hidden.
4 obscure
Not famous or acclaimed:
— An obscure family.
synonyms: unknown, unsung.
5 obscure
Not drawing attention:
— An obscure flaw.
synonym: unnoticeable.
Polish: niezauważalny, lekki, nieznaczny
6 obscure
Remote and separate physically or socially:
— An obscure village.
synonyms: apart, isolated.
Moby thesaurus: Cimmerian, abstruse, adiaphanous, adumbrate, aleatoric, aleatory, ambiguous, amorphic, amorphous, amphibological, anarchic, anonymous, apply to, arcane, around the bush, back of beyond, baffling, baggy, bandage, beamless, beat about, becloud, beclouded, bedarken, bedazzle, bedim, befog, befogged, beg the question, begloom, belie, bemist, benight, beyond one, bicker, black, black as night, black out, blacken, blanket, blear, bleared, bleary, blind, blind the eyes, blindfold, blobby, block, block the light, blot out, blur, blurred, blurry, boggle, broad, brown, buried, caliginous, camouflage, canopy, cast a shadow, cavil, chance, chancy, chaotic, characterless, choplogic, clabber up, clear as mud, cloak, close, clothe, cloud, cloud over, cloud up, clouded, cloudy, complex, complicate, complicated, conceal, concealed, confuse, confused, confusing, cope, corrupt, cover, cover up, covered, covert, cowl, crabbed, cramp, cryptic, curtain, dark, dark as night, dark as pitch, darken, darken over, darkling, darksome, daze, dazzle, deform, deprive of sight, devious, difficult, dim, dim out, disguise, dismal, disorder, disordered, disorderly, dissemble, distant, distort, distract attention from, dodge, double-edged, double-faced, doubtful, dubious, dull, dusk, dusky, ebon, ebony, eclipse, eclipsed, encloud, encompass with shadow, enigmatic, enmist, ensconce, enshroud, envelop, equivocal, equivocate, esoteric, evade, evade the issue, excecate, faint, falsify, far, far-off, featureless, feeble, fence, film, filmy, fog, fog up, foggy, foreign, formless, fuliginous, fuzz, fuzzy, garble, garbled, general, glare, gloom, gloomy, gloss over, gouge, grumly, half-seen, half-visible, hard, hard to understand, haze, hazy, hedge, hid, hidden, hide, hit-or-miss, hood, hoodwink, humble, ignotus, ill-defined, illegible, impervious to light, imprecise, in a cloud, in a fog, in eclipse, in purdah, in the wings, inaccessible, inaccurate, inchoate, incoherent, incommunicado, incomprehensible, inconclusive, inconsequential, inconspicuous, indecisive, indefinable, indefinite, indeterminable, indeterminate, indistinct, indistinguishable, inexact, inexplicable, inform, inglorious, inscrutable, insignificant, intransparent, intricate, jumble, jumbled, kaleidoscopic, keep from, keep under cover, knotty, latent, lax, lay on, lay over, little known, lonesome, loose, low-profile, lowly, lumpen, make blind, make uncertain, make unintelligible, mantle, mask, mean, merely glimpsed, mess up, minor, misadvise, misdirect, miseducate, misguide, misinform, misinstruct, mislead, misrepresent, mist, misteach, misty, muddle, muddy, muffle, murk, murky, mysterious, mystic, mystical, mystify, mystifying, nameless, nebulous, night-black, night-clad, night-cloaked, night-dark, night-enshrouded, night-filled, night-mantled, night-veiled, nitpick, no credit to, nondescript, nonspecific, nubilate, nubilous, obduce, obfuscate, obfuscated, obnubilate, obscured, obumbrate, occult, occultate, occulted, odd, opaque, orderless, out of focus, out-of-the-way, overcast, overcloud, overlay, overshadow, oversmoke, overspread, overtechnical, pale, palter, parry, perplexed, perplexing, pervert, pick nits, pitch-black, pitch-dark, pitchy, prevaricate, pussyfoot, put on, puzzling, quibble, random, rayless, recondite, remote, removed, renownless, retired, roiled, roily, scramble, scrambled, screen, scum, secluded, secluse, secret, semivisible, sequestered, shade, shadow, shadowed forth, shadowy, shady, shapeless, shield, shift, shroud, shuffle, shy, sidestep, slur over, smog, smoke, snow-blind, solitary, somber, split hairs, spread over, starless, stochastic, strange, strike blind, subfusc, sunless, superimpose, superpose, sweeping, tenebrious, tenebrose, tenebrous, tergiversate, tough, transcendent, turbid, umbral, uncelebrated, uncertain, unclear, undefined, under an eclipse, under cover, under house arrest, under wraps, underground, undestined, undetermined, undistinguished, unemphatic, unfamed, unfamiliar, unfathomable, unform, unglorified, unheard-of, unhonored, unilluminated, unimportant, unintelligible, unknown, unlighted, unlit, unnamed, unnotable, unnoted, unnoticeable, unnoticed, unordered, unorganized, unplain, unpopular, unrecognizable, unremarked, unrenowned, unshape, unspecified, unsung, vague, varnish, veil, veiled, weak, whitewash, wrapped in clouds ... show more.
obscured
adjective
Roget 447:
invisible,
imperceptible;
undiscernible†,
indiscernible;
unapparent,
non-apparent;
out of sight,
not in sight;
a perte de vue [Fr.];
behind the scenes,
behind the curtain;
viewless,
sightless;
inconspicuous,
unconspicuous†;
unseen
etc.
(see)
etc.
441;
covert
etc.
(latent)
526;
eclipsed,
under an eclipse.
dim
etc.
(faint)
422;
mysterious,
dark,
obscure,
confused;
indistinct,
indistinguishable;
shadowy,
indefinite,
undefined;
ill-defined,
ill-marked;
blurred,
fuzzy,
out of focus;
misty
etc.
(opaque)
426;
delitescent†.
hidden,
obscured,
covered,
veiled
(concealed)
528.
... show more
Moby thesaurus: abstruse, armored, beamless, beclouded, bedazzled, between the lines, beyond one, black, black as night, blind, blindfold, blindfolded, buried, caliginous, cased, ceiled, cloaked, close, clouded, coated, complex, complicated, concealed, coped, covered, covert, cowled, crabbed, cramp, cryptic, curtained, dark, dark as night, dark as pitch, darkened, darkling, darksome, dazed, dazzled, delitescent, difficult, dormant, ebon, ebony, eclipsed, encapsulated, encapsuled, encased, enveloped, enwrapped, esoteric, excecate, filmed, floored, garbled, guarded, hard, hard to understand, hibernating, hid, hidden, hooded, hoodwinked, housed, in a cloud, in a fog, in eclipse, in purdah, in the wings, incommunicado, intricate, jumbled, knotty, latent, loricate, loricated, lurking, mantled, masked, muffled, mysterious, mystic, night-black, night-clad, night-cloaked, night-dark, night-enshrouded, night-filled, night-mantled, night-veiled, obfuscated, obscure, occult, occulted, overtechnical, packaged, paved, perplexed, pitch-black, pitch-dark, pitchy, possible, potential, privy, rayless, recondite, roofed-in, scrambled, screened, scummed, secluded, secluse, secret, sequestered, sheathed, shelled, shielded, shrouded, sleeping, snow-blind, snow-blinded, starless, submerged, sunless, swathed, tenebrious, tenebrose, tenebrous, tented, tough, under an eclipse, under cover, under house arrest, under the surface, under wraps, underground, underlying, unilluminated, unknown, unlighted, unlit, unmanifested, veiled, virtual, walled, walled-in, wrapped, wrapped in clouds ... show more.
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