Obscure

Definition: Obscure

Obscure

Adjective

1. Not clearly understood or expressed; "an indeterminate turn of phrase"; "an impulse to go off and fight certain obscure battles of his own spirit"-Anatole Broyard; "their descriptions of human behavior become vague, dull, and unclear"- P.A.Sorokin; "vague...forms of speech...have so long passed for mysteries of science"- John Locke.

2. Marked by difficulty of style or expression; "much that was dark is now quite clear to me"; "those who do not appreciate Kafka's work say his style is obscure".

3. Difficult to find; "hidden valleys"; "a hidden cave"; "an obscure retreat".

4. Not famous or acclaimed; "an obscure family"; "unsung heroes of the war".

5. Not drawing attention; "an unnoticeable cigarette burn on the carpet"; "an obscure flaw".

6. Remote and separate physically or socially; "existed over the centuries as a world apart"; "preserved because they inhabited a place apart"- W.H.Hudson; "tiny isolated villages remote from centers of civilization"; "an obscure village".

Verb

1. Make less visible or unclear; "The stars are obscured by the clouds".

2. Make unclear, indistinct, or blurred; "Her remarks confused the debate".

3. Make obscure or unclear; "The distinction was obscured".

4. Make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing.

5. Make difficult to perceive by sight; "The foliage of the huge tree obscures the view of the lake".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "obscure" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1010. (references)

Note: Obscure \Ob*scure"\, adjective. [Comparative Obscurer; superlative Obscurest.]. (references)

Computing

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Synonyms: Obscure

Commonalty

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,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.

Disrepute

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.

Inglorious; nameless, renownless; obscure; unknown to fame; unnoticed, unnoted, unhonored, unglorified.

Obscurity

Adjective: obscure; Noun: crabbed, involved, confused.

Unintelligibility

Obscure, dark, muddy, clear as mud, seen through a mist, dim, nebulous, shrouded in mystery; opaque, dense; undiscernible; (invisible); misty; (opaque); hidden; latent.

Crosswords: Obscure

French (dusk, gloom, murky).

But when we say this, we imagine that the hour is placed in an obscure and distant future (Final Destination; writing credit: Glen Morgan)

I trust I make myself obscure. (A Man for All Seasons; writing credit: Robert Bolt)

Emotions obscure. (Swing Swing; performing artist: ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS)

Jude the Obscure (1971)

Obscure Object of My Desire (2001)

La Chambre obscure (2000)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• The Word Lover's Dictionary: Unusual, Obscure, and Preposterous Words (reference)

  (more book examples)

Theater & Movies

• Jude the Obscure (reference)

• That Obscure Object of Desire (reference)

  (more DVD examples; more video examples)

Music

• Live & Obscure [LIVE] (reference)

• Obscure Alternatives (reference)

• Rare + Well Done: The Greatest & Most Obscure Recordings (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Haze and clouds obscure the setting sun. Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth.

Underway in the Hampton Roads area, Virginia, on 20 February 1943. This image has been retouched by wartime censors to obscure radar antennas atop the ship's gun directors. Credit: NAVY.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

If one can doubt this to be truth, or reason, because it comes from the obscure hand of a subject, I hope the authority of a king will make it pass with him. (Second Treatise of Government)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

It was an obscure night of early May.

There was no pocket so obscure that it did not contain some money and no dwelling so poor that it was not the abode of some joy.

He would know obscure things, hidden from others, from those who were conceived and born children of wrath

Ruthie and Winfield came in quietly, trying by silence and by keeping close to the wall to remain obscure.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Health

In some cases the origin is obscure. (references)

Interactions among the various signaling systems are likewise obscure. (references)

By about age 40, some people with lattice dystrophy will have scarring under the epithelium, resulting in a haze on the cornea that can greatly obscure vision. (references)

Civil Liberties

Belarus

Since the September elections, in most cases such permits either have not been granted, or have been granted only for demonstrations in obscure, hard-to-reach locations. (references)

Economic History

South Korea

The origins of the Korean people are obscure. (references)

Maldives

The early history of the Maldives is obscure. (references)

Human Rights

Congo

Charges rarely were filed, and the legal basis for such detentions often was obscure. (references)

Argentina

In January in Marcos Juarez, Buenos Aires province, 41 inmates reported having been indiscriminately beaten by guards who used helmets and shields to obscure their identity. (references)

Minorities

India

Early in the year, eight Sikhs were killed, allegedly by an obscure militant group. (references)

Trade

Russia

Foreign companies complain of obscure standards and compliance process, unreasonably high demands, and excessive costs of certification testing. (references)

Australia

Any additional information applied and/or labeled on the packages must be true and may not contradict or obscure the information required as part of the trade description. (references)

Worker Rights

Kyrgyz Republic

A lack of coordination between government agencies involved in migration issues, the obscure wording of laws regarding trafficking problems, and corruption contributed to the problem. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

People despised or obscure

Obscure

Expressions using "obscure": become obscure ♦ camera obscure ♦ live an obscure life ♦ obscure corner ♦ obscure glass ♦ obscure origin ♦ obscure place ♦ obscure rays ♦ obscure writer ♦ of obscure birth. Additional references.

Beginning with "obscure": obscure-looking.

Ending with "obscure": Clare-obscure, rightly-obscure.

Albanian

turbulloj (abash, addle, alarm, confound, confuse, discomfit, disconcert, disquiet, embarrass, fog, muddy, obfuscate, perturb, rile, roil, trouble, unhinge, unsettle), i turbullt (blank, cloudy, dim, dimmish, dreamy, dull, dusky, feculent, foggy, indistinct, lax, misty, muddy, shadowy, thick, turbid, turbulent, vague, woozy), i paqartë (abstract, dark, dim, doubtful, dubious, dusky, evasive, inarticulate, indefinite, indeterminate, indistinct, muddy, nebulous, out of focus, recondite, shadowy, uncertain, unclear, undistinguishable, undistinguished, unknowable, unreadable, vague), i panjohur (irrecognizable, nameless, new, sealed, unacquainted, unbeknown, uncelebrated, unco, uncos, unfamiliar, unheard, unknown, unknown person, unrecognized), i pakuptueshëm (abstruse, elusive, fathomless, illegible, impalpable, impenetrable, inapprehensible, incomprehensible, intangible, thick, unattainable, unclear, unintelligible, unknowable, unmeaning, unsearchable), i pafamshëm, i padukshëm (concealed, imperceptible, inappreciable, invisible, noteless, occult, unostentatious, unseen), i mugët (dusky, shadowy), i errët (abstruse, addle, ambiguous, arcane, black, blind, cloudy, dark, darkling, darksome, deep, delphian, delphic, dim, dingy, dusky, foggy, fuscous, gloomy, indeterminate, inky, low-browed, mirk, misted, muddy, murk, murky, nebulous, nigrescent, opaque, recondite, sable, sad, secret, shady, somber, sombre, tenebrous), fsheh (Bury, cache, cloak, conceal, cover, curtain, disguise, dissemble, dissimulate, enshroud, Harbor, harbour, hide, hide away, plant, screen, secrete, sink, stash, veil, withhold, wrap up), errësoj (adumbrate, becloud, bedim, black out, blur, darken, dim, dusk, eclipse, fog, obfuscate, overshadow, shadow). (various references)

Arabic 

‏ملتبس (ambiguous, doubtful, dubious, equivocal, uncertain, vague), ‏مغمور (immersed, inglorious, nameless, sunken), ‏معتم (cloud-capped, cloudy, dark, dim, dusk, dusky, gloomy, murky, overcast), ‏مجهول (anonymous, byway, indefinite, indiscernible, nameless, unbeknown, uncharted, unheard of, unknown, unnamed), ‏مظلم (black, dark, dim, dun, dusk, gloomy, mirk, murk, murky, overcast, tenebrous), ‏مبهم (abstruse, ambiguous, cryptic, dark, dim, enigmatic, equivocal, hazy, impenetrable, incomprehensible, inscrutable, misty, mysterious, mystic, recondite, unclear, unfathomable, unintelligible, vague), ‏ناء منعزل, ‏غير معروف (outsider, strange, unbeknown, unknown), ‏غامض (abstruse, ambiguous, cloudy, deep, dim, double faced, dreamy, enigmatic, evasive, fuzzy, grave, hazy, impenetrable, incomprehensible, indecisive, indefinite, indeterminate, indistinct, indistinguishable, inscrutable, intangible, lax, magic, magical, misty, mysterious, mystic, nebulous, occult, opaque, puzzling, recondite, secret, shady, sketchy, slippery, sloppy, uncertain, unintelligible, vague, woolly), ‏عتم (blackout, cloud, darken, dip, dull, obfuscate, overcast, overshadow), ‏جعله غامضا (becloud), ‏أخفى (cloak, conceal, cover up, harbor, harbour, hid, hill, hush, keep, obstruct, palm, receive, secrete, shelter, smother, stash, stow, suppress, wrap), ‏شوش (bedevil, befuddle, blanket, confuse, demoralize, derange, disarrange, dislocate, disorganize, disrupt, disturb, dizzy, embroil, fog, fuddle, garble, gum up, hamper, jam, jumble, mire, mix up, muddle, muddy, obfuscate, outface, parasite, perplex, perturb, rattle, ravel, scramble, smudge, unhinge, unsettle). (various references)

Bulgarian 

неясен (abstruse, ambiguous, amorphous, blear, bleary, confused, crepuscular, dark, doubtful, dreamy, dusk, fuzzy, hazy, illegible, inarticulate, indecisive, indefinable, indefinite, indistinct, intangible, involved, inward, loose, misty, muddy, muzzy, nebulous, pale, recondite, shadowy, soft, transcendental, ulterior, unclear, undecided, unformed, vague, vapory, vapoury, wan, woolly), закривам (abolish, adjourn, cap, case, close down, cover, hide, intercept, liquidate, obstruct, shield, shroud, shut down, shut out), затъмнявам (adumbrate, becloud, black out, cloud, darken, eclipse, occult, outshine, out-top, shade, shadow), затънтен (godforsaken, inmost, innermost, out of the way, outlandish, outlying), засенчвам (adumbrate, blanket, dim, efface, outshine, out-top, overcast, overcloud, overshadow, shade, show up, upstage), малко известен (inglorious, out of the way), мрачен (black, bleak, cheerless, comfortless, darksome, dejected, depressing, dim, dingy, dismal, drab, drear, dumpish, dusky, forbidding, gaunt, gloomy, glum, grave, grey, grim, grisly, heavy, inhospitable, joyless, low-browed, lowering, melancholy, mirk, morbid, morose, murk, murky, sad, saturnine, somber, sombre, sullen, sunless, tenebrous, thick, tristful), помрачавам (alloy, bedim, cloud, darken, dim, dull, dusk, eclipse, nip, obfuscate, overshadow, shade, shadow, trouble), незначителен (cheap, dinky, fiddling, fractional, frivolous, immaterial, imperceptible, inappreciable, inconsiderable, inessential, inglorious, insignificant, least, little, mean, minor, minute, negligible, niggling, nominal, noteless, nugatory, one horse, outside, paltry, peddling, pettifogging, petty, picayune, piddling, piffling, pimping, pokey, poky, poor, potty, puerile, pygmy, rabbity, scrubby, slight, small, small time, subfusc, tenuous, third class, tiddly, trifling, trivial, two-by-four, twopenny-halfpenny, unconsidered, unimportant), уединен (lone, lonely, private, recluse, retired, secluded, secret, solitary, withdrawn), объркан (addle-brained, bushed, confused, deranged, disconcerted, distraught, embarrassed, foggy, graven, haywire, helter-skelter, intricate, involute, lost, mazy, mixed, mixed up, muddle-headed, muddy, muzzy, perplexed, punch-drunk, puzzle-headed, puzzle-pated, raddle, tangly, turbid, undigested, unglued, woolly), озадачаващ (enigmatic, perplexing), тъмен (black, blackish, cimmerian, dark, darkling, darksome, deep, dense, dusk, dusky, esoteric, fuscous, inky, low-browed, murky, neutral, opaque, overcast, sad, shady, somber, sombre, sooty, unlit), смътен (cloudy, dreamy, indefinable, indefinite, indistinct, misty, remote, shadowy, sneaking, unformed, vague), скривам (cache, conceal, dissemble, enshroud, hide, hoard, hold back, plant, put back, screen, secrete, sink, stash, sweep under the carpet, tuck away, veil), скромен (abstemious, chaste, conservative, decent, decorous, demure, frugal, humble, maidenlike, maidenly, mean, modest, quakerish, quiet, retiring, shamefaced, simple, small, unambitious, unassuming, unobtrusive, unpresuming, unpretending, unpretentious), неизвестен (nameless, recondite, strange, suspensive, unbeknown, uncouth, undiscovered, unfamiliar, unidentified, unknown, unnoted). (various references)

Chinese 

阴暗, 無名 (nameless), 混淆 (blur, confuse, mix up), 曀 (sun hidden by clouds), 曖 (clandestine), 奧 (mysterious). (various references)

Czech

obskurní, zatemnit (black out, darken, darkle, dim out, obfuscate, overcloud), temný (dark, gloomy, hollow, murky, sad, shady, somber, sombre), skrýt (conceal, hide, mantle, pocket), nezřetelný (indistinct, unclear, vague, woolly), nevysvìtlitelný (inexplicable, unaccountable), nejasný (abstruse, ambiguous, dim, dimmish, equivocal, faint, fuzzy, hazy, indeterminate, indistinct, misty, stolid, tenuous, unclear, vague, woolly). (various references)

Danish

obskure tal (obscure figure). (various references)

Dutch

onbekend (unknown), obscuur, donker (bleak, dark, darkness, dim, dismal, dreary, murk). (various references)

Esperanto

obskura, senfama. (various references)

Faeroese

dimmur, døkkur. (various references)

Farsi 

محو (Deletion, Nebulous, Pallid), مبهم کردن (Adumbrate), مبهم (Ambiguous, Dim, Dusky, Enigmatic, Esoteric, Imprecise, Misty, Mysterious, Opaque, Vague), نامفهوم (Obscurant, Unmeaning), گمنام کردن , گمنام (Inglorious, Scrubby, Unknown), تیره کردن (Blur, Dark, Dim, Fog, Gloom, Mud, Overcast, Shade, Tarnish), تیره (Black, Caliginous, Dark, Gloomy, Heavy, Ilk, Indistinct, Lurid, Muddy, Murky, Nebulous, Overcast, Thick, Turbid), تاریک کردن (Dark, Gloom, Overshadow), تار (Caliginous, Chord, Dim, Fiber-Fibre, Filament, Nebulous). (various references)

Finnish

sumentaa (cloud, darken, dim, shroud in mist), samea (cloudy, thick, turbid), pimittää (cheat, darken, dim, withhold information on one's income), pimentää (darken), pimeä (dark), himmenntää (blur, darken, dim, dip the lights, eclipse, outshine, screen off, stop down), himmeä (dim, dull, lustreless, matt, tarnished), hämäräperäinen (shady), hämärä (dark, dim, dusk, dusky, hazy, the grey dawn, twilight), epäselvä (confused, hazy, illegible, indistinct, not clear). (various references)

French

obscur. (various references)

German

obskur (dubious, hole-and-corner, suspect), unerfindlich (incomprehensible), düster (black, bleak, cheerless, dark, dim, dingy, dismal, drab, dreary, dusky, forbidding, frowning, funereal, funereally, gaunt, gloomily, gloomy, Gray, lugubrious, miserable, morbid, murky, sad, saturnine, sepulcher, sinister, somber, somberly, sombre, sullen), dunkel (abstruse, black, bleak, dark, darkness, dim, dingy, dismal, dreamy, dreary, dubious, dusky, gloomy, grave, lightless, murky, obscurely, obscureness, obscurity, opaque, recondite, shadily, shady, somber, somberly, sombre, swarthily, swarthy, tenebrous, vague, vaguely), schwerverständlich (abstruse, difficult to understand, incomprehensible, incomprehensibly), unbedeutend (fractional, inconsequential, inconsiderable, inconsiderably, insignificant, minimal, minor, negligible, nonsignificant, of no account, petit, pettily, petty, piddling, trifling, trivial, trivially, unimportant), unbekannt (anonymous, fameless, foreign, nameless, nonfamous, unacquainted, unavowed, unbeknown, unbeknownly, undistinguished, unfamiliar, unheard, unidentified, unknown, unknowns), überwuchern (grow over, overgrow, overrun, to overgrow), undurchsichtig (dark, devious, impenetrable, non-transparent, opaque, opaquely, unclear), wolkig (cloudily, cloudy, dappled), unklar (blurred, cloudy, doubtful, equivocal, equivocally, foggy, hazy, incoherent, indefinite, indefinitely, indeterminate, indistinct, indistinctly, inexplicit, misty, murky, nebulous, nondistinctive, obscurely, opaque, sketchy, unclarified, unclear, vague, woolly), verdecken (block, block out, blot out, conceal, cover, cover up, hide, hood, mask, obliterate, obliteration, screen, to screen), verdunkeln (becloud, black out, damage, darken, deepen, dim, dim out, eclipse, harm, suppress, to darken), vernebeln (befog, cover by a smoke screen, cover up with a smoke screen, fug up, obfuscate), verwirren (befog, befuddle, bewilder, confound, confuse, dazzle, disarrange, disorient, entangle, fluster, fuddle, jumble, muddle, muddle up, mystify, obfuscate, perplex, perturb, puzzle, Ravel, ruffle, ruffle up, tangle, tangle up, to confuse, to derange, to disarrange, to discombobulate, to disconcert, to dishevel, to disorient, to distract, to embarrass, to fluster, tousle, unsettle), verworren (complicated, confused, confusedly, discombobulated, intricate, involved, muddled, muddle-headed, muddy, nebulous, perplexed, promiscuous, promiscuously, turbid, woolly), verworren machen (obfuscate), undeutlich (blurred, dimly, hazy, illegible, inarticulate, inarticulately, indefinite, indefinitely, indistinct, indistinctly, indistinguishable, muddled, mumblingly, obscurely, slurred, unarticulate, uncertain, unclear, undistinguishable, undistinguished, unemphatic, unexplicit, vague). (various references)

Greek 

κρύβω (cache, conceal, conceal from, cover, cover up, delie, hide), σκοτεινόσ (black, dark, dim, dingy, dusk, murky, opaque, recondite, shady, somber, sombre), σκοτεινός (dark, recondite), συσκωτίζω, επισκοτίζω (overcast, overcloud), αφανήσ (inconspicuous, unseen), αδιευκρίνιστοσ, δυσνόητοσ (abstruse, incomprehensible, recondite), δυσνόητος (recondite). (various references)

Hebrew 

לעמום (darken, dim), לעמעם (blur, darken, dim, mute, overlook, tarnish), לערפל (fog, haze, obfuscate), להקדיר (darken), להעיב (cloud, darken, overcloud), להאפיל (blackout, darken, eclipse, obfuscate, overshadow, shade), עמום (abstruse, dim, faint, frosting, fuzzy, muzzy, obtuse, opaque, tarnish, vague), אפל (black, dark, dim, gloomy, leaden, somber), כהה (dark, deep, dim, dull, faint), סתום (abstruse, blocked, closed, closing, congested, corking, incomprehensible, stopped up, stopping, vague, vagueness). (various references)

Hungarian

zavaros (ambiguous, bleary, blurred, chaotic, cloudy, confused, feculent, fustian, haywire, hugger-mugger, incoherent, indistinct, intricate, motley, muddled, muddling, muddy, puddly, rambling, roily, troubled, troublous, turbid), tompa (blunt, dim, dull, have a blunt edge, hollow, lustreless, matt, muffled, obtuse, pastel shades, thick-headed), sötét (black, black as night, collied, dark, dark-skinned, dim, doldrums, dun, dusky, funereal, gloomy, gray, grey, grim, louring, loury, mirk, murk, murky, of evil omen, puke, saturnine, shady, somber, sombre, stygian, tenebrous), ismeretlen (anon, anonymous, faceless, faraway, incognito, it is unknown, little known, nameless, occult, unacquainted, unbeknown, unco, unfamiliar, unheard of, unheard-of, unidentified, unknown), homályos (abstruse, apocalyptic, bleary, blurred, cloudy, darksome, dim, dusk, dusky, equivocal, foggy, frosted, fuzzy, gloomy, hazy, indistinct, indistinctive, lustreless, misty, murky, nebulous, oblique, recondite, shadowy, shady, shape, stygian, transcendental, twilit, unclear, vague), bizonytalan (choppy, cranky, dicey, dim, dubious, elusive, equivocal, faint, faltering, fickle, have cold feet, hazy, hesitating, indefinite, indeterminate, insecure, irresolute, nondescript, pennky, precarious, questionable, sandy, scratchy, shaky, speculative, suspensive, to be in the air, to hang in the air, to hang in the balance, transcendental, uncertain, unsettled, unsteady, unsure, vague, woozy). (various references)

Indonesian

menggelapkan (darken, embezzle), mengaburkan (blur, make something hazy or foggy), kelam (dark, dim (of eyesight), dull, overcast). (various references)

Italian

sconosciuto (strange, stranger, unbeknownst, unfamiliar, unidentified, unknown), oscuro (black, dark, dim, gloomy, humble, murky, somber, sombre), ermetico (abstruse, air-tight, dark, difficult to understand, hermetic, hermetical, obscurely, opaque, recondite, tight). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

漠然 (equivocal, vague). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

なもない (insignificant, unknown), ぼうばくたる (boundless, vague, vast), ふぶんめい (indistinct, vague), ふめい (ambiguous, anonymous, ignorant, indistinct, lack of wisdom, uncertain, unidentified, unknown), ばくぜんたる (hazy, vague), ばくぜん (equivocal, vague), ばくばく (vague, vast), ほのぐらい (gloomy), かいじゅう (ambiguous, conciliation, equivocal, marine animal, monster), あいまいもこ (ambiguous, vague), もうろうたる (dim, hazy, vague). (various references)

Korean 

어두운 (Dark). (various references)

Manx

ooignyssagh, neuvaghtallagh (indeterminate), neureayrtagh, dorraghey (crepuscular, dark, dun, dusk, dusky, enigmatic, fade out, gloomy), do-hoiggal (abstract, enigmatic, incomprehensible). (various references)

Pig Latin

obscureay.(various references)

Portuguese

obscuro (abstruse, blur, dim, dusk, fameless, foggy, hazy, humble, inexplicit, inglorious, misty, mysterious, nameless, oracular, transcendental, unclear, unnoted). (various references)

Romanian

obscur (abstruse, cloudy, confused, dark, darksome, dim, dull, entangled, foggy, gloomy, indistinct, murk, obscurely, recondite, tenebrous, unknown, unnoticed), tainic (close, cover, covert, dark, hidden, inmost, inner, innermost, inside, intimate, isolated, mysterious, mysteriously, mystic, private, privy, quiet, secret, stealthy), puţin cunoscut, nelãmurit (shadowy, uncertain, unenlightened, vague, vaguely), nedesluşit (dull, indefinite, indistinct, indistinctly, loose), necunoscut (nameless, out of the way, strange, stranger, unfamiliar, unknown), neştiut (hidden, out of the way, secret, strange, unknown), face obscur, enigmatic (ambiguous, enigmatic, enigmatical, inscrutable, riddling, unintelligible), de neînţeles (incomprehensible), complicat (complicated, daedal, deep, difficult, elaborate, intricate, intricately, perplex, perplexed, tangled, tricky, turbid), complica (complicate, embarrass, mystify, perplex, puzzle, thicken), ascunde vederii (put out of sight), întunecos (dark, darkish, dim, dingy, gloomy, murkily, murky, shadowy, twilight), întuneca (bedim, cloud, darken, dim, gloom, muddy, obfuscate, overcloud, overshadow, sadden, tarnish). (various references)

Russian 

скрытый (arcane, clandestine, concealed, covert, cryptic, delitescent, dormant, esoteric, hidden, in disguise, inside, larval, latent, masked, occult, offstage, quiet, secret, stealthy, supressed, ulterior), тусклый (blear, bleary, dim, dingy, dull, faint, fishy, glazy, lackluster, lacklustre, mat, muddy, pale, sad, sunless, wan), темный (black, blackish, blind, cimmerian, dark, darksome, dun, gloomy, ignorant, lowering, mirk, murk, murky, sable, shadowy, shady, somber, sombre, sunless, tenebrous, unlit), неясный (ambiguous, cloudy, dicey, dimmish, dreamy, dubious, dull, esoteric, faint, indistinct, inexplicit, misty, muzzy, nebulous, recondite, shady, unaccounted-for, unarticulate, unarticulated, unclear), невыясненный (debatable, uncertain), незаметный (imperceptible, inappreciable, inconspicuous, noteless), непонятный (abstruse, delphian, delphic, inapprehensible, incomprehensible, inexplicable, inexplicit, unclear), неизвестный (nameless, unbeknown, undisclosed, unheard, unknown, unknown person), мрачный (black, bleak, cheerless, dark, darksome, dismal, dour, drear, dreary, funereal, gaunt, gloomy, glum, grave, grey, grim, heavy, lugubrious, macabre, mirk, morose, mournful, murk, murky, saturnine, somber, sombre, sullen, tenebrous, woebegone), затемнять затемненный (obfuscated, obscured), затемнять (adumbrate, becloud, bedim, black out, blind, darken, dim, dim out, eclipse, obfuscate, overcast, overshadow), делать неясным. (various references)

Scottish

neulach (pale), mith (an obscure or humble person, humble person : mithean), doilleir (dark). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

opskurantan (mysterious), zamračiti (becloud, black out, cloud, darken, obfuscate), nerazgovetan (indistinct, slurred), nepoznat (inconversant, strange, unaccustomed, unacquainted, unbeknown, unfamiliar, unknown), nejasan (abstruse, bleary, blurred, dim, fuzzy, hazy, indistinct, indistinctive, nebulous, recondite, unclear, undetermined, vague), načiniti nerazumljivim, načiniti nejasnim, mračan (bleak, dark, darksome, dim, dusky, gloomy, mirk, mirky, murk, murky, somber, sombre, tenebrous). (various references)

Spanish

oscuro (abstruse, cimmerian, dark, darkling, darksome, deep, dim, dingy, dissolute, dusk, dusky, eery, gloomy, insignificant, mirk, murk, murky, pitchy, shadowy, twilight, vat), oscurecer (becloud, cloud, confuse, darken, deepen, dim, fog, grow dark, obfuscate, overcloud, shade, shadow, tarnish), umbrio (dark, obscurely, opaque, recondite), solitario (alone, desolate, isolated, lone, lonely, lonesome, patience, recluse, seclusive, solitaire, solitary), esconder (cache, conceal, encryption, ensconce, Harbor, harbour, hide, hide away, occuring, tuck away), entenebrecer (darken, fog, involve), eclipsar (eclipse, outshine, overshadow, surpass, upstage), disimular (cloak, conceal, cover, dissemble, dissimulate, Fox, hide, pretend, suppress), confundir (abash, baffle, beat, befuddle, bewilder, confound, confuse, disarrange, discombobulate, dish, distract, embrangle, flummox, fluster, Fox, mistake, mix, mix up, muddle, nonplus, rattle, throw). (various references)

Swedish

otydlig (bleary, diaphanous, faint, inarticulate, indistinct, inexplicit, muzzy, vague), oklar (cloudy, dim, fuzzy, incoherent, indefinite, indistinct, misty, nebulous, opaque, sketchy, unclear, woolly), mörk (dark, darksome, dingy, dun, dusky, grave, murk, murky, sombre), förmörka (cloud, darken, eclipse, gloom, obfuscate, occult, overcast), fördunkla (cloud, darken, dim, eclipse, obfuscate). (various references)

Thai

ที่ไม่เด่น, ปิดบัง (blindfold, cover, enshroud, hold back), คลุมเครือ (fog, nebulous, opaque). (various references)

Turkish

karışık (adulterated, blended, calico, chequered, combined, complicated, composite, compound, confused, deep, disconcerted, disordered, disorderly, disorganized, hugger mugger, huggermugger, hybrid, inexplicit, inextricable, intricate, involute, involved, kinky, knotted, knotty, mazy, medley, miscellaneous, mixed, motley, out of square, promiscuous, turbid, unclassified, unsized, woolly, wooly), ücra (far flung, out of the way, outlying, remote), anlaşılmaz (bottomless, clear as mud, complicated, deep, delphic, elusive, elusory, fathomless, impenetrable, inapprehensible, inarticulate, incomprehensible, inconceivable, inexplicable, inscrutable, intangible, occult, opaque, oracular, perplexed, puzzling, recondite, sphinxlike, unaccountable, uncanny, unintelligible, vague, weird), belirsiz (ambiguous, backhanded, clouded, cloudy, cloudyly, dubious, dusty, equivocal, foggy, fuzzy, hazy, in the balance, indefinable, indefinite, indescribable, indeterminate, indistinct, inglorious, lax, misty, off color, off colour, precarious, shadowy, uncertain, unclear, undefined, undetermined, unsettled, vague), belirsizleştirmek (bedim), bilinmeyen (mysterious, mystery, occult, recondite, secret, strange, unbeknown, unbeknownst, unknown, unknown quantity, x), örtbas etmek (blanket, cloak, compound, conceal, cover up, explain away, gloss, gloss over, gloze, gloze over, hugger mugger, huggermugger, hush, hush up, keep smth. quiet, palliate, paper, sink, smother up, suppress, sweep under the carpet, veneer, wash out, whitewash), gizlemek (blot out, bottle up, Bury, cache, camouflage, cloak, conceal, cover up, disguise, dissemble, draw a veil over, enshroud, gloss over, gloze, gloze over, hide, hoodwink, hugger mugger, huggermugger, hush, hush up, keep back, keep from, keep in dark, keep in one's bosom, keep smth. under wraps, keep snug, mask, plant, pocket, screen, secrete, sheathe, shroud, sweep under the carpet, tuck away, veil), telâffuzu zor, karanlık (clouded, dark, darkling, darkness, deep, deepness, dun, dusky, foggy, funny, funny peculiar, gloom, gloominess, gloomy, inkiness, murk, murky, night, obscuration, obscurity, pitchy, shadow, shadowy, shady, somber, somberness, sombre, sombreness, tenebrous, unlit), karanlık yapmak, karartmak (becloud, bedim, befog, black, blacken, blackout, cloud, darken, dim, dim out, fade, fade out, fog, lour, lower, obfuscate, shadow), kuytu (corner, cranny, hidden, Lee, nook, quiet, retired, sheltered, snug), loş (dusk, dusky, gloomy, shadowy, shady, somber, sombre), saklamak (blind, Bury, cloak, conceal, disguise, enshrine, harvest, hide, hold back, keep back, keep smth. quiet, keep smth. under wraps, keep snug, lay down, plant, put by, put out of sight, screen, secrete, shelter, stash, stash away, stow away, suffuse, tuck away), gözlerden uzak (secluded). (various references)

Turkmen 

bьremek (cloud). (various references)

Ukrainian

незрозумілий (cabbalistic, cramp, impenetrable, opaque, weird), приглушений (murmurous, muted, obtuse, still, sullen, thick), прихований (arcane, blind, bosomed, close, closet, concealed, covert, cryptic, delitescent, furtive, glossy, hideaway, latent, obumbrate, occulted, privy, secret, stealthy, ulterior, underneath, veiled), задимляти, заплутувати (ball up, complicate, embrangle, embroil, entangle, jack off, jerk off, muss, puzzle, tangle), заважати (baffle, balk, clog, cut across, embar, embarrass, empeach, hinder, impeach, incommode, interfere, obstruct, preclude, prohibit), загороджувати (shut in, shut out, stake), затемнювати (adumbrate, bedarken, bedim, blind, darken, deface, dim out, obfuscate, obumbrate, overshadow), затінювати (deface, dim, obfuscate), затьмарювати (alloy, begloom, blear, cloud, darken, eclipse, obfuscate, outdazzle, overcast, overcloud, overshade, overshadow, overtop, shade, shadow, shine down), заслоняти (interrupt, obstruct, occult), мало освітлений, морок (murk), похмурий (adust, bleak, cheerless, dark, darksome, despondent, disconsolate, dismal, drear, dreary, dull, dusky, frowning, gash, gaunt, ghastly, gloomy, glum, grave, gruff, hard-faced, inhospitable, lowering, macabre, mopish, mournful, murk, nightly, overcast, sable, saturnine, sepulchral, shadowy, stygian, sullen, surly, tenebrous), непомітний (inappreciable, insensible, noteless, undistinguished, unnoted, unnoticed, unwitnessed), робити неясним, невиразний (chancy, characterless, dim, elusive, expressionless, faint, featureless, foggy, hazy, indecisive, ineffective, inexpressive, milk and water, nebulose, nebulous, neutral, toneless, weak, wishy washy, woolly, wooly), невідомий (fameless, inglorious, nameless, noteless, unbeknown, unheard, unknown), нечіткий (ambiguous, amorphous, blurred, crabbed, cramped, illegible, nubilous), нерозбірливий (crabbed, cramped, illegible, indecipherable, niggling, unreadable), неясний (abstruse, ambiguous, amorphous, blear, blind, blurred, chancy, darkling, doubtful, dusk, faint, fuzzy, hazy, indistinct, misty, nebulose, nebulous, nubilous, opaque, oracular, oraculous, recondite, shadowy, transcendental, unaccounted for, unclear, undistinguished, woolly, wooly), неясність обрисів, ніч (night), нічим не уславлений, відлюдний (ascetic, close, coy, lonely, morose, offish, recluse, remote, retired, shut in, unsociable, unsocial), темний (abstruse, backwoods, black, cimmerian, dark, darkling, darksome, lowering, murk, murky, nightly, nigrescent, occult, opaque, shaded, smutty, somber, sombre), темрява (dark, darkness, gloom, mirk, murk, night, nigritude, obscureness, obscurity, opaque), туманний (brumous, damp, delphic, filmy, foggy, hazy, misty, nebulose, nebulous, nubilous, soupy, turbid, vaporous, vapourish, vapoury), тьмяний (crepuscular, dim, dingy, dull, glaucous, glazed, glazy, lacklustre, opaque, sad, wan, waterish), непереконливий (flimsy, weak). (various references)

Vietnamese 

tối tăm (dark, darkly, dismal, fuliginous, gloomy, murky, recondite, sunless), tối nghĩa không có tiếng tăm, tối (dark, dusky, fuscous, gravely, night, p.m., pip emma, post meridiem, shadowy), mờ mịt không rõ nghĩa, mờ (dim, mat, twilight), ít người biết đến. (various references)

Welsh

tywyllu (blacken, darken), tywyll (abstruse, benighted, blind, dark), dinod (insignificant), cymylu (cloud, dim), caddugo (darken), aneglur (illegible, indistinct, unclear), anamlwg (inconspicuous). (various references)

apokryphos. (various references)

abditis, abdito, adumbrabat, caeco, caliginoso, caligosum, confusa, confusi, confusum, confusus, excaeca, excaecant, excaecati, excaecavit, humile, humilem, humiles, humili, humilia, humilibus, humilior, humiliora, humiliorem, humiliores, humilis, humilium, humillima, ignobiles, ignobilia, ignobiliora, ignobilis, ignobilium, ignotus, inglorios, inglorius, nebulosa, obscura, obscurabitur, obscurabuntur, obscuraretur, obscurat, obscuratae, obscurati, obscuratum, obscuratus, obscuraverit, obscuravit, obscurent, obscurentur, obscurior, obscuris, obscuro, obscurum, obscurus, obtenebrata, obtenebrati, obtenebratus, obtenebrentur, operta, opertam, operti, opertique, opertis, operto, opertos, opertum, opertus. (various references)

obscur. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Derivations

Words beginning with "obscure": obscured, obscurely, obscureness, obscurenesses, obscurer, obscures, obscurest. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Obscure" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: abscure, Bosbury, Boscarne, Boscuen, Bozkurt, obcsure, obcure, obscur, obscura, obsecure, obsurd, obsure, obture, osbcure, oscura, oscure. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Direct Anagrams: bescour.

-1 letter: bourse, cerous, course, crouse, cubers, source.

-2 letters: bores, bouse, brose, burse, ceros, cores, corse, cruse, cuber, cubes, curbs, cures, curse, ecrus, euros, rebus, robes, roues, rouse, rubes, score, scour, scrub, sober, suber, sucre.

-3 letters: bore, bros, burs, cero, cobs, core, cors, crus, cube, cubs, cues, curb, cure, curs, ecru, ecus, eros, euro, obes.

+1 letter: bescours, bouncers, obscured, obscurer, obscures, roebucks.

+2 letters: barouches, bescoured, brochures, buckeroos, curbstone, obscurely, obscurest, subsector.

+3 letters: abductores, bescouring, cockleburs, cumbersome, curbstones, herbaceous, microbuses, obduracies, obstructed, quebrachos, scrubwomen, sourcebook, subcordate, subprocess, subproject, subsectors, superblock.

+4 letters: blockbuster, bloodsucker, brucelloses, brucellosis, carburetors, construable, contributes, copublisher, counterbids, embouchures, microbusses, obscureness, obscurities, obstructive, sourcebooks, subcategory, subdirector, subprojects, superblocks, tuberculous, uncrossable.