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GRE vocabulary

obscure

adjectiveHigh-frequency wordMore O words

not clearly understood, or little known

Word origin: From Latin obscurus, dark or covered.

In a sentence

Obscure in a sentence

Here are example sentences showing obscure in a sentence.

The poet alluded to an obscure myth that few readers would recognize.

The poet drew on an obscure regional dialect that even specialists struggled to gloss.

Synonyms
Antonyms
clearwell-knownevident
Usage & nuance

Using “obscure” well

As an adjective, obscure means either hard to understand or little known and unimportant. As a verb it means to hide or make unclear, so context determines the sense.

Common questions

Questions about “obscure

Obscure (adjective) means not clearly understood, or little known
Here is obscure used in an example sentence: "The poet alluded to an obscure myth that few readers would recognize." Another example: "The poet drew on an obscure regional dialect that even specialists struggled to gloss."
Common synonyms for obscure include unclear, cryptic, abstruse.
Antonyms of obscure include clear, well-known, evident.
Obscure clusters with unclear, cryptic, and abstruse. Its antonyms clear, well-known, and evident mark the opposite-sense choice in Sentence Equivalence.
Yes. Obscure is a high-frequency GRE word, so it is worth prioritising as you build your vocabulary.

Learn words the way the GRE tests them.

Vocabulary sticks when you meet it in real sentences. Practise these words inside text completion and sentence equivalence questions.