obscurity

Noun

obscurity (countable and uncountable, plural obscurities)

1. (literary) Darkness; the absence of light.
   • The night was considerably clearer than anybody on board her desired when the schooner Ventura headed for the land. It rose in places, black and sharp against the velvety indigo, over her dipping bow, though most of the low littoral was wrapped in obscurity.1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 6, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC
   • I walked in, and Stroeve followed me. The room was in darkness. I could only see that it was an attic, with a sloping roof; and a faint glimmer, no more than a less profound obscurity, came from a skylight.1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, “chapter 24”, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC
2. The state of being unknown; a thing that is unknown.
   • She was plucked from obscurity to star in a Broadway musical.
   • The departure was not unduly prolonged.[…]Within the door Mrs. Spoker hastily imparted to Mrs. Love a few final sentiments[…]; a deep, guttural instigation to the horse; and the wheels of the waggonette crunched heavily away into obscurity.1921, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC

   Synonyms:

   unknownness

3. The quality of being difficult to understand; a thing that is difficult to understand.