obscure

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++ob·scure1 /əbˈskjʊə $ -ˈskjʊr/ ●○○ adjective  1  NOT KNOWFAMOUSnot well known and usually not very important 无名的；微贱的 an obscure poet 名不见经传的诗人 The details of his life remain obscure. 他的生平不详。2  UNDERSTANDdifficult to understand 费解的，晦涩的 obscure legal phrases 费解的法律术语 For some obscure reason, the group is very popular. 这个组合莫名其妙地很受欢迎。 —obscurely adverb

Examples from the Corpus

obscure• The proposed arrangements however are rather obscure.• Best's art is eccentric and obscure.• Publishers would not print his earlier poetry because they felt it was too obscure.• The connection between the studies is somewhat obscure.• The Silver Apples are one of those obscure bands that you might hear about, but never actually hear.• The lines were written by an obscure English poet named Mordaunt.• an obscure Flemish painter• Laurence Hurst has pursued an obscure hint of a gender-altering parasite among human beings.• He's using an obscure old law to try to stop the new road being built.• Picasso's first exhibition received only a short mention in an obscure Parisian newspaper.• obscure regulations• It was satisfying to send away and get this obscure stuff in the mail.• About the most obscure thing touted is the fountain in Fountain Hills.• You're not expected to input anything too obscure though, so frustrations in this respect are kept to a minimum.• Each sprang from the obscure underside of the society.remain obscure• Sadler's activities as a notary in Chancery remain obscure.• The precise status and terms of reference of this committee remain obscure.• Until the final stages of the war the future form of radical and socialist politics in Britain remained obscure.• For reasons that remain obscure, caffeine significantly increases the analgesic effectiveness of both aspirin and aspirin substitutes such as acetaminophen.• But then again, so much about this brilliant, underappreciated composer, arranger and pianist has remained obscure for decades.• While causes of dyslexia remain obscure, there is growing evidence that it is neurological in nature.For ... obscure reason• My colleagues and I will vote against the Bill, and not for any obscure reason.• Archer understood that he ran the risk of having his mandate withdrawn, and for some obscure reason he disliked the prospect.• Occasionally, for some obscure reason of her own, Elinor was pleasant.• And that faced her with a course of action which, for some obscure reason, seemed rather distasteful now.• For some obscure reason you had to be taken over.obscure2 ●○○ verb [transitive]  1  UNDERSTANDto make something difficult to know or understand 搞混，使难理解 Recent successes have obscured the fact that the company is still in trouble. 近来的成功掩盖了公司依然处于困境的事实。2  CLEAR/EASY TO SEEto prevent something from being seen or heard clearly 遮蔽；使朦胧；使听不清 The view was obscured by mist. 薄雾中景色朦胧。► see thesaurus at hide→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

obscure• That banner ad obscured an ad on the Time site for PointCast, which competes with NewsPage.• Everything upon which her eyes focused was obscured by a heavy veil.• Parts of the coast were obscured by fog.• If the finger is used, the image is partly obscured by the hand.• Soon, they would catch up with the sun and obscure it.• The staining frequently obscured the nucleus making assessment of the presence of nuclear staining difficult.• Fitful clouds were beginning to obscure the sun.• It must be redesigned so that it illuminates the choices facing the country - not, as now, obscures them.• Despite the obscuring veil of time, many researchers can make out the traces of the Supercontinent Cycle in the Precambrian.obscured the fact• The authors say the argument has obscured the fact that, under either financing plan, there will be a funding gap.• Second, the furore obscured the fact that Velikovsky was making an important point: catastrophes have occurred in the past.Origin obscure1 (1300-1400) Old French Latin obscurus

ob·scure1 adjectiveobscure2 verbChineseSyllable  

usually very well and not not Corpus known important

obscure

I

ob‧scure¹ /əbˈskjʊə $ -ˈskjʊr/ adjective1. not well known and usually not very important:
    an obscure poet
    The details of his life remain obscure.
2. difficult to understand:
    obscure legal phrases
    For some obscure reason, the group is very popular.
—obscurely adverb

II

obscure² verb [transitive]
1. to make something difficult to know or understand:
    Recent successes have obscured the fact that the company is still in trouble.
2. to prevent something from being seen or heard clearly:
    The view was obscured by mist.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ hide to make something difficult to see or find, or to not show your true feelings: He hid the gun in his pocket. | She tried to hide her anger. | The actress put up a hand to hide her face from the cameras.
   ▪ conceal formal to hide something, especially by carefully putting it somewhere. Also used when talking about hiding your feelings, especially in negative sentences: Several kilos of drugs were concealed in the back of the truck. | He could not conceal his feelings any longer. | The girl quickly concealed the photograph she had been gazing at.
   ▪ cover up to put something over another thing that you do not want people to see, in order to hide it completely: People cover up cracks with wallpaper or tiles. | I used some make-up to cover up the spots. | She was wearing a thin shawl to cover up the bruises on her arm.
   ▪ disguise to make someone or something seem like a different person or thing, so that other people cannot recognize them: She managed to get into the camp by disguising herself as a soldier. | The men had disguised the vessel as fishing boat.
   ▪ camouflage to hide something by covering it with materials that make it look like the things around it: We camouflaged the plane by covering it with leaves. | The troops used charcoal to camouflage their faces. | Soldiers had camouflaged the trucks with branches and dirt.
   ▪ obscure literary to make it difficult to see something clearly: The view was obscured by mist. | His body was found, partially obscured by bushes, at the bottom of a shallow canyon.
   ▪ mask to make something less noticeable, for example a taste, a smell, a sound, or a feeling: The lemon helps to mask the taste of the fish. | Helen had turned on the radio to mask the noise of the traffic. | He did little to mask his contempt.