different between obscure vs uncertain
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:
- what obscure holiday is today
- what obscure means
- what obscure national holiday is it today
- what obscures the real reason for christmas
- what obscured
- what obscures the moon
- what obscure animal are you
- what obscure aesthetic are you
uncertain
English
Etymology
un- +? certain
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?n?s??t?n/
- Rhymes: -??(r)t?n
Adjective
uncertain (comparative more uncertain, superlative most uncertain)
- Not certain; unsure.
- 1663, John Tillotson, The Wisdom of being Religious
- Man, without the protection of a superior Being, […] is […] uncertain of everything that he hopes for.
- 1663, John Tillotson, The Wisdom of being Religious
- Not known for certain; questionable.
- Not yet determined; undecided.
- Variable and subject to change.
- Fitful or unsteady.
- Turning back, then, toward the basement staircase, she began to grope her way through blinding darkness, but had taken only a few uncertain steps when, of a sudden, she stopped short and for a little stood like a stricken thing, quite motionless save that she quaked to her very marrow in the grasp of a great and enervating fear.
- Unpredictable or capricious.
Antonyms
- certain
Related terms
- uncertainly, uncertainty
Translations
Noun
uncertain pl (plural only)
- (with "the") Something uncertain.
Anagrams
- N Centauri, centaurin, encurtain, runcinate
uncertain From the web:
- what uncertain means
- what uncertainties existed in germany in the 1920s
- what uncertainty means
- what uncertainties do we need
- what uncertainties are involved with the oscillation method
- what uncertainty is represented by the following measurements
- what uncertainty does to the brain
- what uncertainty
Share
Tweet
+1
Share
Pin
Like
Send
Share
you may also like
- obscure vs uncertain
- interest vs boon
- suitable vs engaging
- gathering vs aggregation
- sudden vs fleet
- portent vs forewarning
- luminosity vs effulgence
- obese vs titanic
- unchanging vs stable
- exotic vs striking
- observation vs study
- innate vs steadfast
- foul vs appalling
- susceptibility vs ardour
- ejection vs pollutant
- distasteful vs ugly
- foregoing vs aforesaid
- terrible vs ruinous
- ghastly vs sickening
- surmise vs fancy