different between obscure vs obnubilate

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)

1. 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.

2. Hidden, out of sight or inconspicuous.
   • 1606, John Davies of Hereford, Bien Venu

     the obscure corners of the earth

3. Difficult to understand.

4. Not well-known.
5. 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)

1. (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.

2. (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.

3. (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

1. feminine singular of obscur

Anagrams

• courbes

Latin

Adjective

obsc?re

1. 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

English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin obn?bil?tus, perfect passive participle of obn?bil? (“cover with clouds or fog”), from ob- +? n?bil? (“be cloudy”), from n?b?s (“cloud”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)newd?- (“to cover”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?b?nju?b?l?t/

Adjective

obnubilate (comparative more obnubilate, superlative most obnubilate)

1. (obsolete) Covered or darkened as with a cloud; overclouded; obscured.
   • 1575, John Rolland (aut.), W. Gregor (ed.), Ane Treatise callit the Court of Venvs (1884), bk 1, ll. 244–251 (p. 23):

   • 1610, John Healey (tr.), S^t. Augu?tine, of the Citie of God, bk 19, ch. 4, p. 758:

   • 1630, John Taylor, All the Workes of John Taylor the Water-poet, epigram 36, p. 266/1:

   • 1860, George William Bagby (aut., ed.), “Editor’s Table” in The Southern Literary Messenger XXXI (N.S. X), p. 74:

Translations

References

• “†?Obnu·bilate, ppl. a.” in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (1st edition), volume VII (O, P; 1909), § i (O, ed. James Augustus Henry Murray), page 25/3
• “† obnubilate, adj.” in the Oxford English Dictionary (3rd edition, March 2004)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin obn?bil?, as above.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?b?nju?b?le?t/

Verb

obnubilate (third-person singular simple present obnubilates, present participle obnubilating, simple past and past participle obnubilated)

1. (obsolete) To obscure, to shadow.
2. To make cloudy.

Derived terms

• obnubilated (adjective)

References

• “Obnubilate, v.” in A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (1st edition), volume VII (O, P; 1909), § i (O, ed. James Augustus Henry Murray), page 25/3
• “obnubilate, v.” in the Oxford English Dictionary (3rd edition, March 2004)

Related terms

• obnubilation
• obnubilous

Italian

Verb

obnubilate

1. second-person plural present indicative of obnubilare
2. second-person plural imperative of obnubilare
3. feminine plural of obnubilato