different between obscure vs ethereal
obscure
English
Etymology
From Middle English obscure, from Old French obscur, from Latin obsc?rus (“dark, dusky, indistinct”), from ob- +? *sc?rus, from Proto-Italic *skoiros, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)?eh?-.
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /?b?skj??(?)/, /?b?skj??(?)/
- (General American) IPA(key): /?b?skj??/, /?b?skj?/
- Rhymes: -??(?), -??(?), -??(?)
- Hyphenation: ob?scure
Adjective
obscure (comparative obscurer or more obscure, superlative obscurest or most obscure)
- Dark, faint or indistinct.
- 1892, Denton Jaques Snider, Inferno, 1, 1-2 (originally by Dante Alighieri)
- I found myself in an obscure wood.
- His lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.
- 1892, Denton Jaques Snider, Inferno, 1, 1-2 (originally by Dante Alighieri)
- Hidden, out of sight or inconspicuous.
- 1606, John Davies of Hereford, Bien Venu
- the obscure corners of the earth
- 1606, John Davies of Hereford, Bien Venu
- Difficult to understand.
- Not well-known.
- Unknown or uncertain; unclear.
- The etymological roots of the word "blizzard" are obscure and open to debate.
Usage notes
- The comparative obscurer and superlative obscurest, though formed by valid rules for English, are less common than more obscure and most obscure.
Synonyms
- (dark): cimmerian, dingy; See also Thesaurus:dark
- (faint or indistinct): fuzzy, ill-defined; See also Thesaurus:indistinct
- (hidden, out of sight): occluded, secluded; See also Thesaurus:hidden
- (difficult to understand): fathomless, inscrutable; See also Thesaurus:incomprehensible
- (not well-known): enigmatic, esoteric, mysterious; See also Thesaurus:arcane
Antonyms
- clear
Derived terms
- obscurable
- unobscurable
- obscureness
Related terms
- obscurity
- obscuration
Translations
Verb
obscure (third-person singular simple present obscures, present participle obscuring, simple past and past participle obscured)
- (transitive) To render obscure; to darken; to make dim; to keep in the dark; to hide; to make less visible, intelligible, legible, glorious, beautiful, or illustrious.
- c. 1688', William Wake, Preparation for Death
- There is scarce any duty which has been so obscured in the writings of learned men as this.
- c. 1688', William Wake, Preparation for Death
- (transitive) To hide, put out of sight etc.
- 1994, Bill Watterson, Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat, page 62
- I realized that the purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning, and inhibit clarity.
- 1994, Bill Watterson, Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat, page 62
- (intransitive, obsolete) To conceal oneself; to hide.
- How! There's bad news. / I must obscure, and hear it.
Synonyms
- (to render obscure; to darken; dim): becloud, bedarken, bedim, bemist
Translations
Further reading
- obscure in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
- obscure in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
Anagrams
- Cuberos
French
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?p.sky?/
Adjective
obscure
- feminine singular of obscur
Anagrams
- courbes
Latin
Adjective
obsc?re
- vocative masculine singular of obsc?rus
References
- obscure in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- obscure in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- obscure in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette
obscure From the web:
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ethereal
English
Alternative forms
- etherial
- aethereal
- aetherial
- æthereal
- æthereall (obsolete)
- ætherial
- ætheriall (obsolete)
Etymology
From Latin aetherius (“of or pertaining to the ether, the sky, or the air or upper air; ethereal”), from Ancient Greek ???????? (aithérios, “of or pertaining to the upper air; ethereal”).
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /?????.?i.?l/
- (US) IPA(key): /?????.i.?l/, /?????.i.?l/
Adjective
ethereal (comparative more ethereal, superlative most ethereal)
- Pertaining to the hypothetical upper, purer air, or to the higher regions beyond the earth or beyond the atmosphere; celestial; otherworldly.
- 1862: Thoreau, Walking.
- I trust that we shall be more imaginative, that our thoughts will be clearer, fresher, and more ethereal, as our sky, […]
- 1862: Thoreau, Walking.
- Consisting of ether; hence, exceedingly light or airy; tenuous; spiritlike; characterized by extreme delicacy, as form, manner, thought, etc.
- Delicate, light and airy.
- (chemistry) To do with ether.
- an ethereal solution
Synonyms
- (pertaining to the hypothetical upper, purer air): aereous, mystical, transcendental; See also Thesaurus:cosmic
- (consisting of ether): ethereous; See also Thesaurus:gaseous, Thesaurus:insubstantial, or Thesaurus:subtle
- (delicate, light and airy): gossamer; See also Thesaurus:fragile
- (to do with ether): ethereous, etheric, etherical
Derived terms
Translations
References
- ethereal in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
ethereal From the web:
- what ethereal means
- what's ethereal beauty
- ethereal beauty meaning
- ethereal meaning in english
- what ethereal smell like
- what's ethereal oil
- what ethereal means in farsi
- what's ethereal smell
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