obscure : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: obscure	by the DICT Development Group
7 results for obscure
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
obscure adj not clearly understood or expressed; "an obscure 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 Synonym(s): obscure, vague 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" Synonym(s): dark, obscure difficult to find; "hidden valleys"; "a hidden cave"; "an obscure retreat" Synonym(s): hidden, obscure not famous or acclaimed; "an obscure family"; "unsung heroes of the war" Synonym(s): obscure, unknown, unsung not drawing attention; "an unnoticeable cigarette burn on the carpet"; "an obscure flaw" Synonym(s): obscure, unnoticeable 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" Synonym(s): apart(p), isolated, obscure v make less visible or unclear; "The stars are obscured by the clouds"; "the big elm tree obscures our view of the valley" Synonym(s): obscure, befog, becloud, obnubilate, haze over, fog, cloud, mist make unclear, indistinct, or blurred; "Her remarks confused the debate"; "Their words obnubilate their intentions" Synonym(s): confuse, blur, obscure, obnubilate make obscure or unclear; "The distinction was obscured" Synonym(s): obscure, bedim, overcloud reduce a vowel to a neutral one, such as a schwa make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing; "a hidden message"; "a veiled threat" Synonym(s): obscure, blot out, obliterate, veil, hide
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Obscure \Ob*scure"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Obscured}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Obscuring}.] [L. obscurare, fr. obscurus: cf. OF. obscurer. See {Obscure}, a.] To render obscure; to darken; to make dim; to keep in the dark; to hide; to make less visible, intelligible, legible, glorious, beautiful, or illustrious. They are all couched in a pit hard by Herne's oak, with obscured lights. --Shak. Why, 't is an office of discovery, love, And I should be obscured. --Shak. There is scarce any duty which has been so obscured by the writings of learned men as this. --Wake. And seest not sin obscures thy godlike frame? --Dryden.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Obscure \Obscure"\, a. [Compar. {Obscurer}; superl. {Obscurest}.] [L. obscurus, orig., covered; ob- (see {Ob-}) + a root probably meaning, to cover; cf. L. scutum shield, Skr. sku to cover: cf.F. obscur. Cf.{Sky}.] 1. Covered over, shaded, or darkened; destitute of light; imperfectly illuminated; dusky; dim. His lamp shall be put out in obscure* darkness. --Prov. xx. 20. 2. Of or pertaining to darkness or night; inconspicuous to the sight; indistinctly seen; hidden; retired; remote from observation; unnoticed. The obscure bird Clamored the livelong night. --Shak. The obscure corners of the earth. --Sir J. Davies. 3. Not noticeable; humble; mean. [bd]O base and obscure vulgar.[b8] --Shak. [bd]An obscure person.[b8] --Atterbury. 4. Not easily understood; not clear or legible; abstruse or blind; as, an obscure passage or inscription. 5. Not clear, full, or distinct; clouded; imperfect; as, an obscure view of remote objects. {Obscure rays} (Opt.), those rays which are not luminous or visible, and which in the spectrum are beyond the limits of the visible portion. Syn: Dark; dim; darksome; dusky; shadowy; misty; abstruse; intricate; difficult; mysterious; retired; unnoticed; unknown; humble; mean; indistinct.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Obscure \Ob*scure"\, v. i. To conceal one's self; to hide; to keep dark. [Obs.] How! There's bad news. I must obscure, and hear it. --Beau. & Fl.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Obscure \Ob*scure"\, n. Obscurity. [Obs.] --Milton.
From Jargon File (4.2.0, 31 JAN 2000) [jargon]:
obscure adj. Used in an exaggeration of its normal meaning, to imply total incomprehensibility. "The reason for that last crash is obscure." "The `find(1)' command's syntax is obscure!" The phrase `moderately obscure' implies that something could be figured out but probably isn't worth the trouble. The construction `obscure in the extreme' is the preferred emphatic form.
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (15Feb98) [foldoc]:
OBSCURE "A Formal Description of the Specification Language OBSCURE", J. Loeckx, TR A85/15, U Saarlandes, Saarbrucken, 1985. [{Jargon File}]