different between incomprehensible vs abstruse

English

Etymology

From Middle French incomprehensible, from Latin incomprehensibilis.

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /??nk?mp???h?ns?b?l/

Adjective

incomprehensible (comparative more incomprehensible, superlative most incomprehensible)

1. impossible or very difficult to understand.
   • 1904-09, Mark Twain, Letters from the Earth, published 1962

     But this inference, which is supported by the opening of Book I, renders incomprehensible the note "and I have finished writing this," which is included within the dream.

   • 1990, Greg Bear, Heads,

     He shook his head. 'It's not only undefined, it's incomprehensible. Even the QL is befuddled by it and can't give me straight answers.'

Synonyms

• fathomless, unfathomable, unintelligible; See also Thesaurus:incomprehensible

Antonyms

• comprehensible, understandable; See also Thesaurus:comprehensible

Related terms

• incomprehension

Translations

Noun

incomprehensible (plural incomprehensibles)

1. Anything that is beyond understanding.

Further reading

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

Middle French

Etymology

First known attestation 1314, borrowed from Latin incomprehensibilis.

Adjective

incomprehensible m or f (plural incomprehensibles)

1. incomprehensible

Descendants

• ? English: incomprehensible

References

English

Etymology

From French abstrus or its source, Latin abstr?sus (“hidden, concealed”), the perfect passive participle of abstr?d? (“conceal, to push away”), itself from ab, abs (“away”) + tr?d? (“thrust, push”). Cognate with German abstrus.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?b?st?u?s/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /æb?st?us/, /?b-/
• Rhymes: -u?s
• Hyphenation: ab?struse

Adjective

abstruse (comparative abstruser or more abstruse, superlative abstrusest or most abstruse)

1. Difficult to comprehend or understand. [from late 16th c.]

   Synonyms: esoteric, obscure, recondite
2. (obsolete) Concealed or hidden out of the way; secret. [from late 16th c. until mid 18th c.]

Usage notes

More abstruse and most abstruse are the preferred forms over abstruser and abstrusest.

Synonyms

• (concealed): clandestine, secret, surreptitious; See also Thesaurus:covert
• (difficult to comprehend): esoteric, obscure, recondite; See also Thesaurus:incomprehensible

Derived terms

• abstrusely
• abstruseness

Translations

References

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• Staubers, Straubes, surbates, surbeats

French

Adjective

abstruse

1. feminine singular of abstrus

Anagrams

• arbustes

German

Adjective

abstruse

1. inflection of abstrus:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Latin

Participle

abstr?se

1. vocative masculine singular of abstr?sus

References

• abstruse in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press