Home Synonyms obscure

Synonyms of obscure in English:

obscure


See US English definition of obscure

See UK English definition of obscure

See Spanish definition of oscuro

adjective

1‘he was born about 1650 though his origins and parentage remain obscure’

SYNONYMS
unclear, uncertain, unknown, in doubt, doubtful, dubious, mysterious, hazy, vague, indeterminate, concealed, hidden

2‘obscure references to Proust’

SYNONYMS
abstruse, recondite, arcane, esoteric, recherché, occult
enigmatic, mystifying, puzzling, perplexing, baffling, ambiguous, cryptic, equivocal, Delphic, oracular, riddling, oblique, opaque, elliptical, unintelligible, uninterpretable, incomprehensible, impenetrable, unfathomable, inexplicable
unexplained
informal as clear as mud
ANTONYMS

clear, plain

3‘an obscure Peruvian painter’

SYNONYMS
little known, unknown, unheard of, undistinguished, insignificant, unimportant, inconsequential, inconspicuous, unnoticed, nameless, anonymous, minor, humble, lowly, unrenowned, unsung, unrecognized, unhonoured, inglorious, forgotten
ANTONYMS

famous, renowned

4‘grey and obscure on the horizon rose a low island’

SYNONYMS
indistinct, faint, vague, ill-defined, unclear, blurred, blurry, misty, hazy, foggy, veiled, cloudy, clouded, nebulous, fuzzy
dark, dim, unlit, black, murky, sombre, gloomy, shady, shadowy
literary dusky, tenebrous, darkling, crepuscular
rare caliginous, Cimmerian
ANTONYMS

distinct


verb

1‘grey clouds obscured the sun’

SYNONYMS
hide, conceal, cover, veil, shroud, screen, mask, cloak, cast a shadow over, shadow, envelop, mantle, block, block out, blank out, obliterate, eclipse, overshadow
literary enshroud, bedim, benight
rare obnubilate, adumbrate
ANTONYMS

reveal

2‘recent events have obscured rather than illuminated the issue’

SYNONYMS
confuse, complicate, obfuscate, cloud, blur, muddy
muddy the waters
literary becloud, befog
ANTONYMS

clarify, illuminate