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arcane

arcane

27 9.8
Only a few people understand it
  • adjective
  • /ɑrˈkeɪn/
translation icon : esotérico
  • Many of the concepts in quantum physics are considered arcane and only comprehensible to trained physicists.
  • arcane jargon
  • arcane language
  • arcane knowledge

And this image appeared in that article, but it was in some arcane journal or you know, so.

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Examples

  • This is a tricky question, and I will address it with the famously arcane theory of supply and demand.

  • What we have is a very arcane set of wage and hour laws.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Very few understood the function of the arcane instruments inside the cabinets.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • The conventions of our money supply are so arcane that explanation is daunting.

    Academic text (2012)
  • CRISPR was discovered by scientists pursuing an arcane question: how do bacteria defend themselves from viruses?

    Academic text (2015)
  • The rules of the game are arcane to most new players, making it difficult for them to understand.

  • The ancient text contained many arcane symbols that only a few experts could decipher.

Synonyms

secret
vsarcane
125 6.3

Hard to understand or explain

is mysterious and understood by few rather than only hard to explain
obscure
vsarcane
84 7.0

Not well known or famous

is mysterious and understood by few, not only unknown or distant
occult
vsarcane
35 9.0

Hidden from view and not easy to see

is mysterious and secret but not necessarily physically hidden
enigmatic
vsarcane
27 8.1

Hard to understand and often seems mysterious

is mysterious and limited to few rather than merely puzzling
esoteric
vsarcane
  • Formal
26 9.7

Only a small group of experts understand it

is mysterious to few but not always technical or specialist
cabalistic
vsarcane
  • Literature
1 9.9

Mysterious and secret, like a code understood by only a few people

is mysterious to few but not specifically tied to coded symbols

Antonyms

1.0

Easy to understand and not confusing

1.0

Easy to see or understand

797 1.0

Happening often or seen in many places

How Mysterious

esoteric
  • Formal
26 9.7
arcane
27 9.8
recondite
  • Formal
1 9.9
obscure
84 7.0

Surface Forms

arcane positive
arcaner comparative
arcanest superlative

Etymology

Arcane comes from the Latin arcanus, from arca meaning 'box' or 'chest'. Think of a secret kept in a closed ark or box — arcane things are like hidden objects, known by very few.