obscurer

Adjective

obscure (comparative obscurer or more obscure, superlative obscurest or most obscure)

1. Dark, faint or indistinct.
   • I found myself in an obscure wood.1892, Denton Jaques Snider, Inferno, 1, 1-2 (originally by Dante Alighieri)

   Synonyms:

   cimmerian, dingy, fuzzy, ill-defined, adumbral, blear, caliginous, crepuscular, dark, darksome

   Antonyms:

   clear, distinct, alight, illuminated, inlighted, lighted, lighty, lit, lit up, luminous

2. Hidden, out of sight or inconspicuous.
   • The obscure bird / Clamoured the livelong night.c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...

   Synonyms:

   occluded, secluded, covered, concealed, dark, dern, hidden, invisible, inward, latent

   Antonyms:

   clear, straightforward, apparent, bare, displayed, distinct, evident, exposed, certain, indubitable

3. Difficult to understand; abstruse.
   • an obscure passage or inscription; The speaker made obscure references to little-known literary works.

   Synonyms:

   fathomless, inscrutable, abstruse, Chinese, dense, enigmatic, bottomless, Greek, inapprehensible, incognizable

   Antonyms:

   clear, apprehensible, limpid, comprehensible, explainable, explicable, explicatable, fathomable, graspable, illuminable

4. Not well-known.
   • Of all the medical monsters Peter Hotez could have set out to slay, the Yale University researcher could not have chosen a more wily and obscure villain than the hookworm.1996 October 6, William Hathaway, “PARASITE LINKS MEN IN DARING VENTURE”, in Hartford Courant, archived from the original on 08 Jul 2021

   Synonyms:

   enigmatic, esoteric, mysterious, arcane, dark, mystic, occult, recondite

   Antonyms:

   accessible, open, well-known, bait, fabled, famed, famous, famoused, iconic, irrecondite

5. Unknown or uncertain; unclear.
   • The etymological roots of the word "blizzard" are obscure and open to debate.

   Synonyms:

   ignote, unascertained, undiscovered, knownless, strange, unapprehended, unexplained, unfamiliar, uninvestigated, unknown

   Antonyms:

   clear, known, accustomed, acquainted, familiar, habitual, predictable, routine, wonted, wontish

See all 8 meanings of obscure