Webster's English Dictionary

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obscure

1. ob.scure \a:b-'skyu.(*)r, *b-\ aj [ME, fr. MF obscur, fr. L obscurus, 
   fr. ob- in the way + -]scurus (akin to Gk keuthein to conceal) - more at 
   HIDE 1: lacking or inadequately supplied with light : DARK, DUSKY  2a: 
   withdrawn from the centers of human activity : REMOTE {~)R country village} 
   2b: not readily understood or not clearly expressed : ABSTRUSE  2c: lacking 
   showiness or prominence : INCONSPICUOUS, HUMBLE  {an ~ Roman poet} 2d: not 
   distinct : FAINT  3: constituting the unstressed vowel 8 or having 
   unstressed 8 as its valueM, AMBIGUOUS, EQUIVOCAL mean not clearly 
   understandable. OBSCURE implies a hiding or veiling of meaning through some 
   defect of full knowledge; DARK implies an imperfect or clouded revelation 
   often with ominous or sinister suggestion; VAGUE implies a lack of clear 
   formulation because imperfectly conceived or thought out; ENIGMATIC 
   stresses a puzzling, mystifying quality; CRYPTIC implies a purposely 
   concealed meaning; AMBIGUOUS and EQUIVOCAL both imply the use of the same 
   word in different senses, AMBIGUOUS usu. suggesting inadvertence and 
   EQUIVOCAL an attempt to confuse or evade - ob.scure.ly av SYN syn OBSCURE, 
   DARK, VAGUE, ENIGMATIC, CRYPTIC) 
2. obscure vt 1: to make dark, dim, or indistinct  2: to conceal or hide by 
   covering or intervening  3: to reduce (a vowel) to the value 8 
3. obscure n : OBSCURITY