obscure

USAGE SUMMARY

The word 'obscure' is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when you want to describe something that is not well known or hard to understand. Example sentence: "The artist's work is quite obscure, making it difficult to determine its meaning."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Books

Music

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

60 human-written examples

The 46-year-old Lee is obsessed with obscure musicians, outsider artists and forgotten writers and he brings some of their off-kilter spirit to standup comedy.

The Guardian

Months away from our next election, we don't have a clue what sort of government we might end up with and which currently obscure player from a minor party could be calling the shots.

The Guardian - Opinion

A hugely influential writer of short stories, the sheer mass of his extremely uneven body of work – 300 stories, 200 articles, six novels, two plays, and three travel books churned out between 1880 and 1891 – can obscure his genius like clouds around an alp.

The Guardian - Books

Throughout the remainder of the memo, citations, sentences and even whole paragraphs have been stripped out, in some cases to protect genuine sources and methods but in others to obscure the precedents underlying the government's legal arguments.

The Guardian - Opinion

PRs know that spinning a positive story first and fast can obscure a deeper truth.

The Guardian

Clarkson posted a video apology online saying he had tried to obscure the word but that his efforts "weren't quite good enough".

The Guardian

The nominees range from the nearly famous to the belovedly obscure, including London singer Arlissa, who recently recorded with Nas, Dublin rock band Kodaline and Toronto rapper the Weeknd, who almost won Canada's top music prize back in 2011.

The Guardian - Music

They also offer an insight into how traumatising the Kennedy assassinations were at the time – something we can almost obscure with hindsight, revisionism, and conspiracy theories.

The Guardian - Books

Think of the most obscure release from the most obscure artist you knew; it was there, on Oink, in every issue and reissue, including redacted promo copies and split seven-inch records and bonus tracks from Japanese pressings you'd never even heard of.

The Guardian - Books

Then there are more obscure new laws that take some explaining.

The Guardian

Hand in hand with the spread of new private estates has been the closure of public highways and public rights of way under an obscure piece of planning law, known as "stopping up orders".

The Guardian - Opinion

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Consider the connotations of "obscure". It can imply something is deliberately hidden, unintentionally overlooked, or simply not widely known.

Common error

Avoid using "obscure" as a vague descriptor. Instead of saying "the obscure details", specify what makes the details obscure: "the obscure historical references".

Linguistic Context

The word "obscure" functions primarily as an adjective to describe something that is not well known, understood, or easily seen. As Ludwig shows, it can also function as a verb, meaning to hide or make something unclear.

Expression frequency: Very common

Frequent in

News & Media

40%

Books

25%

Music

15%

Less common in

Formal & Business

5%

Science

5%

Encyclopedias

5%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, "obscure" is a versatile term functioning as both an adjective and a verb, predominantly used to denote something not easily understood or widely known. As confirmed by Ludwig AI, the term is grammatically correct and well-suited for various contexts, particularly within News & Media, Books, and Music. While the term is correct, remember that providing context enhances clarity, as overusing ""obscure"" without supporting details can lead to vagueness. Consider using synonyms such as "vague" or "ambiguous" for variety. The authoritative examples provided by Ludwig showcase its diverse applications, ensuring writers can confidently employ this term.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

little-known

Indicates a lack of widespread knowledge or familiarity.

vague

Refers to a lack of clarity or precision in meaning.

unclear

Indicates a lack of distinctness or certainty.

ambiguous

Implies having multiple possible meanings or interpretations.

enigmatic

Suggests something mysterious and difficult to interpret.

hidden

Implies being concealed or not easily found.

inconspicuous

Suggests not being easily noticeable or attracting attention.

recondite

Describes something dealing with very profound, difficult, or abstruse subject matter.

arcane

Suggests knowledge understood by few; mysterious or secret.

murky

Implies something is dark, unclear, or difficult to see through, either literally or figuratively.

FAQs

How to use "obscure" in a sentence?

You can use "obscure" to describe something that is not well-known, difficult to understand, or hidden. For example, "The artist's work is quite obscure, making it difficult to determine its meaning".

What can I say instead of "obscure"?

You can use alternatives like "vague", "ambiguous", or "unclear" depending on the context.

Which is correct, "obscure" or "unclear"?

Both "obscure" and "unclear" can be correct, but they have slightly different meanings. "Obscure" suggests something is hidden or not well-known, while "unclear" suggests a lack of clarity or understanding.

What's the difference between "obscure" and "enigmatic"?

"Obscure" suggests something is not easily discovered or understood, whereas "enigmatic" implies a mysterious quality that provokes curiosity and requires deeper investigation to comprehend.