different between slippery vs obscure
slippery
English
Etymology
From Middle English slipperie, an extended form ( +? -y) of Middle English slipper, sliper (“slippery”), from Old English slipor (“slippery”), from Proto-Germanic *slipraz (“smooth, slippery”), equivalent to slip +? -er. Compare also Middle English slibbri, slubbri (“slippery”) borrowed from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German slibberich (“slippery”). Cognate with German schlüpfrig (“slippery”), Danish slibrig (“slippery”), Swedish slipprig (“slippery”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /?sl?p??i/, /?sl?p?i/
Adjective
slippery (comparative slipperier, superlative slipperiest)
- Of a surface, having low friction, often due to being covered in a non-viscous liquid, and therefore hard to grip, hard to stand on without falling, etc.
- Oily substances render things slippery.
- (figuratively, by extension) Evasive; difficult to pin down.
- a slippery person
- a slippery promise
- (obsolete) Liable to slip; not standing firm.
- 1602, William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, III. iii. 84:
- Which when they fall, as being slippery standers, / The love that leaned on them, as slippery too, / Do one pluck down another, and together / Die in the fall.
- 1602, William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, III. iii. 84:
- Unstable; changeable; inconstant.
- 1668, Sir John Denham
- He looking down
With scorn or pity on the slippery state
Of kings, will tread upon the neck of fate.
- He looking down
- 1668, Sir John Denham
- (obsolete) Wanton; unchaste; loose in morals.
- 1610, William Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale, I. ii. 273:
- My wife is slippery? If thou wilt confess –
- 1610, William Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale, I. ii. 273:
Synonyms
- (of a surface): greasy, slick, slimy, slippy, wet
Antonyms
- (of a surface): sticky
Derived terms
Related terms
- slip
Translations
slippery From the web:
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- what slippery elm good for
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- what's slippery slope
- what's slippery when wet
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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
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- what obscure animal are you
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