Words / C1

uhb-SKY-oor/əbˈskjʊə/

Obscure means little-known or hard to understand, or hidden from view: an obscure paper, an obscure view. Unclear is everyday; recondite (already in the dictionary, C2) is harder and more bookish. The verb obscure is hide. Do not call a badly written required chapter obscure as if that were the reader’s fault.

Meaning

Not well known, or not easy to understand; also, hidden from view.

Examples

• “An obscure footnote held the only honest n in the paper.”
• “An obscure footnote held the only honest n; the abstract did not.”
• “Unclear writing is on the author; an obscure source is genuinely little-known. Obscure the view is the verb. Recondite is the rarer C2 twin.”

Good to know

Little-known / hard to grasp / hidden. Everyday: unclear (writing). Verb: obscure (hide). C2 cousin: recondite. Not an excuse for bad prose.

Near in meaning

unclear

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