different between clinching vs obvious

English

Verb

clinching

1. present participle of clinch

Adjective

clinching (not comparable)

1. That settles something (such as an argument) definitely and conclusively
   • 1872, Thomas Hardy, Under the Greenwood Tree, Part 2, Chapter 8,^[1]

     “Yes,” said Dick, with such a clinching period at the end that it seemed he was never going to add another word.

   • 1921, Edwin Arlington Robinson, “Imogen” in Collected Poems, lines 113-119,^[2]

     There were no dreams,

     No phantoms in her future any more:

     One clinching revelation of what was

     One by-flash of irrevocable chance,

     Had acridly but honestly foretold

     The mystical fulfilment of a life

     That might have once … But that was all gone by

   • 1960, “Breaking the Fast,” Time, 22 February, 1960,^[3]

     He shocked his hearers by urging them not to fast during Ramadan, which begins Feb. 29. As a clinching argument, Bourguiba recalled that even Mohammed, when inconveniently overtaken by Ramadan on his march to Mecca, counseled his soldiers: “Break the fast, and you will be stronger to confront the enemy.”

Noun

clinching (countable and uncountable, plural clinchings)

1. A clinch; a passionate embrace.
   • 1937, Motion Picture Herald (volume 127, issues 1-6, page 42)

     Though there are no kissings and clinchings, […]

2. A making certain or finalizing.
   • 2015, George Becnel, The Southland Conference: Small College Football, Big Dreams

     Only six weeks into the season, the top-ranked Bulldogs were undefeated at 60, but more important to Louisiana Tech was one of the earliest clinchings of a conference title in the annals of college football.

3. (computing, historical) The distortion of computer tape by wrinkling.
   • 1985, Alvin C. Larson, Computer Operator (AFSC 51150) (page 87)

     This “clinching” can distort the tape by causing a series of creases or folds in the surface and may produce read errors.

   • 1987, Conservation Administration News (issues 28-35, page 29)

     Computer magnetic tape is designed primarily for its storage capacity, speed, and capacity to be repeatedly erased and written over. […] Bad binder can cause holes in the oxide, loose particles, or clinching of tape.

English

Etymology

16th century, from Latin obvius (“being in the way so as to meet, meeting, easy to access, at hand, ready, obvious”), from ob- (“before”) + via (“way”). In order to avoid an awkward form such as *obvy, the Latin ending -us was maintained in the form -ous (which is otherwise equivalent to Latin -osus).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /??b.vi.?s/, (fast speech) /??.vi.?s/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??b.v??s/, /??.v??s/, (fast speech) /??v.j?s/
• Hyphenation: ob?vi?ous

Adjective

obvious (comparative more obvious, superlative most obvious)

1. Easily discovered, seen, or understood; self-explanatory.

   • Carried somehow, somewhither, for some reason, on these surging floods, were these travelers, of errand not wholly obvious to their fellows, yet of such sort as to call into query alike the nature of their errand and their own relations. It is easily earned repetition to state that Josephine St. Auban's was a presence not to be concealed.

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:obvious.

Antonyms

• unobvious
• non-obvious
• subtle

Derived terms

• obviously
• obviousness

Translations

See also

• clear
• evident
• manifest
• plain

Further reading

• obvious in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• obvious in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.