obscurity

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Related to obscurity: Security through obscurity

ob·scu·ri·ty

(ŏb-skyo͝or′ĭ-tē, əb-)

n. pl. ob·scu·ri·ties

1. Deficiency or absence of light; darkness.

a. The quality or condition of being unknown: "Even utter obscurity need not be an obstacle to [political] success" (New Republic).

b. One that is unknown.

a. The quality or condition of being imperfectly known or difficult to understand: "writings meant to be understood ... by all, composed without deliberate obscurity or hidden motives" (National Review).

b. An instance of being imperfectly known or difficult to understand.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

obscurity

(əbˈskjʊərɪtɪ)

n, pl -ties

1. the state or quality of being obscure

2. an obscure person or thing

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ob•scu•ri•ty

(əbˈskyʊər ɪ ti)

n., pl. -ties.

1. the state or quality of being obscure.

2. a person or thing that is obscure.

[1470–80]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun	1.	obscurity - the quality of being unclear or abstruse and hard to understand abstruseness, reconditeness, obscureness incomprehensibility - the quality of being incomprehensible clarity, clearness, limpidity, lucidity, lucidness, pellucidity - free from obscurity and easy to understand; the comprehensibility of clear expression
	2.	obscurity - an obscure and unimportant standing; not well known; "he worked in obscurity for many years" standing - social or financial or professional status or reputation; "of equal standing"; "a member in good standing" anonymity, namelessness - the state of being anonymous humbleness, lowliness, obscureness, unimportance - the state of being humble and unimportant nowhere - an insignificant place; "he came out of nowhere" limbo, oblivion - the state of being disregarded or forgotten prominence - the state of being prominent: widely known or eminent
	3.	obscurity - the state of being indistinct or indefinite for lack of adequate illumination obscureness semidarkness - partial darkness

obscurity

noun

1. insignificance, oblivion, unimportance, non-recognition, inconsequence, lowliness, inconspicuousness, namelessness, ingloriousness His later life was spent in obscurity and loneliness.

2. vagueness, complexity, ambiguity, intricacy, incomprehensibility, inexactitude, woolliness, abstruseness, impreciseness, impenetrableness, reconditeness, lack of preciseness Hunt was irritated by the obscurity of his reply.
vagueness clarity, lucidity, explicitness, obviousness, clearness, comprehensibility

3. enigma, mystery, puzzle, problem, difficulty, complexity, riddle, conundrum Whatever its obscurities, the poem was clear on one count.

4. darkness, dark, shadows, shade, gloom, haze, blackness, murk, dimness, murkiness, haziness, duskiness, shadiness, shadowiness, indistinctness the vast branches vanished into deep indigo obscurity above my head

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

obscurity

noun

1. Absence or deficiency of light:

dark, darkness, dimness, duskiness, murkiness, obscureness.

2. The quality or state of being obscure:

anonymity, namelessness.

3. The quality or state of being ambiguous:

ambiguity, ambiguousness, cloudiness, equivocalness, indefiniteness, nebulousness, obscureness, uncertainty, unclearness, vagueness.

Translations

ظَلام، ظُلْمَه، غُموض

uklarhed

Dunkelheit

oscuridad

obscurité

óskÿrleiki; torræîni

anlaşılmazlık

不明朦胧费解隐晦

obscurity

[əbˈskjʊərɪtɪ] N

1. (= the unknown) → oscuridad f
to live in obscurity → vivir en la oscuridad
she rose from obscurity to be a leading name in fashion → salió de la nada para llegar a ser un nombre destacado del mundo de la moda
the band faded into obscurity → el grupo cayó en el olvido

2. (= complexity) [of language, idea] → oscuridad f
obscurities (in a book) → puntos mpl oscuros

3. (liter) (= darkness) → oscuridad f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

obscurity

[əbˈskjʊərəti] n

[unknown person, thing] → obscurité f

[reply, statement] → caractère m obscur

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

obscurity

no pl (of a wood, night) → Dunkelheit f, → Finsternis f, → Dunkel nt

(of style, ideas, argument) → Unklarheit f, → Unverständlichkeit f, → Verworrenheit f; to lapse into obscurity → verworren or unklar werden; he threw some light on the obscurities of the text → er erhellte einige der unklaren Textstellen

no pl (of birth, origins) → Dunkel nt; to live in obscurity → zurückgezogen leben; to rise from obscurity → aus dem Nichts auftauchen; in spite of the obscurity of his origins → trotz seiner unbekannten Herkunft; to sink into obscurity → in Vergessenheit geraten

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

obscurity

[əbˈskjʊərɪtɪ] n (also) (fig) → oscurità f inv

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

obscure

(əbˈskjuə) adjective

1. not clear; difficult to see. an obscure corner of the library.

2. not well-known. an obscure author.

3. difficult to understand. an obscure poem.

verb

to make obscure. A large tree obscured the view.

obˈscurely adverb

obˈscurity noun

References in classic literature ?

A still greater obscurity lies in the distinctive characters by which the objects in each of these great departments of nature have been arranged and assorted.

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AN Old Politician and a Young Politician were travelling through a beautiful country, by the dusty highway which leads to the City of Prosperous Obscurity. Lured by the flowers and the shade and charmed by the songs of birds which invited to woodland paths and green fields, his imagination fired by glimpses of golden domes and glittering palaces in the distance on either hand, the Young Politician said:

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Already wood and hill Sank in obscurity. The river marge Seemed but a broken line to failing sight.

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He walked on, going from obscurity into promises of a greater obscurity.

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It shook with his measured breath, as he gave out the psalm; it threw its obscurity between him and the holy page, as he read the Scriptures; and while he prayed, the veil lay heavily on his uplifted countenance.

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The hatches of the saloon were open, and, as the beacon light of the Nautilus was not in action, a dim obscurity reigned in the midst of the waters.

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de Wardes must take his departure, still in obscurity.

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How can it be otherwise, when all one's prospect, all one's landscapes, historical pieces, portraits, flowers, still life, are nothing but a single line, with no varieties except degrees of brightness and obscurity?

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On the fourteenth day I went into the kitchen, and I was surprised to find that the fronds of the red weed had grown right across the hole in the wall, turning the half-light of the place into a crimson-coloured obscurity.

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At eighteen, Miss Murray was to emerge from the quiet obscurity of the schoolroom into the full blaze of the fashionable world--as much of it, at least, as could be had out of London; for her papa could not be persuaded to leave his rural pleasures and pursuits, even for a few weeks' residence in town.

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The roads were bad, and the dense obscurity of the night increased the difficulty of getting over the ground quickly.

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The obscurity lent him courage to keep his eves fastened as ardently as he liked upon the girl who sat in the firelight.

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