different between surround vs obscure
surround
English
Etymology
From Middle English sourrounden (“to submerge, overflow”), from Middle French souronder, suronder, from Late Latin superund?, from super + und? (“to rise in waves”), from unda (“wave”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /s???a?nd/
- Rhymes: -a?nd
- Hyphenation: sur?round
Verb
surround (third-person singular simple present surrounds, present participle surrounding, simple past and past participle surrounded)
- (transitive) To encircle something or simultaneously extend in all directions.
- 2005, Plato, Sophist. Translation by Lesley Brown. 230c.
- and this way they get rid of those grand and stubborn opinions that surround them.
- 2005, Plato, Sophist. Translation by Lesley Brown. 230c.
- (transitive) To enclose or confine something on all sides so as to prevent escape.
- (transitive, obsolete) To pass around; to travel about; to circumnavigate.
- 1650, Thomas Fuller, A Pisgah-Sight of Palestine
- the body of that worthy patriarch […] should steal into that country in a clandestine way, and privately enter in at the postern door; rather let it solemnly surround the country
- 1650, Thomas Fuller, A Pisgah-Sight of Palestine
Synonyms
- bebay
- beleaguer
- beset
Translations
Noun
surround (plural surrounds)
- (Britain) Anything, such as a fence or border, that surrounds something.
- 1972, Frederick Forsyth, The Odessa File, Viking, SBN 670-52042-x, chapter 15, page 283:
- He drifted through the room, avoiding the furniture by instinct, closed the door that led to the passage, and only then flicked on his flashlight.
- It swept around the room, picking out a desk, a telephone, a wall of bookshelves, and a deep armchair, and finally settled on a handsome fireplace with a large surround of red brick.
- 1972, Frederick Forsyth, The Odessa File, Viking, SBN 670-52042-x, chapter 15, page 283:
Derived terms
- surround sound
surround From the web:
- what surrounds the nucleus
- what surrounds all cells
- what surrounds the cell
- what surrounds the nucleus of an atom
- what surrounds the alveoli
- what surrounds and protects the cell
- what surrounds the heart
- what surrounds the cell membrane
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
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