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obscureness

obscureness

8.9
State of being hard to understand
  • noun
  • /əbˈskjʊrnəs/
translation icon : oscuridad
  • The obscureness of the ancient script made it difficult for historians to interpret the text.

Examples

  • He struggled to understand the poem because of its obscureness and complex imagery.

  • Broadly, titles can be said to work by reference or enigma: they refer to some key element in the ensuing text or are intriguing in their obscureness.

    Academic text (1991)
  • The teacher appreciated the work, but its obscureness left many students confused.

Synonyms

obscurity
vsobscureness
5 7.4

Hard to understand or see, making people feel confused

is an alternative form referring to the same unclear quality
elusiveness
vsobscureness
3 7.4

Hard to find or understand

is focused on unclear perception rather than being difficult to locate
opacity
vsobscureness
2 8.3

How hard something is to understand because it is unclear

is the general quality of being unclear or not easily perceived
inscrutability
vsobscureness
1 9.9

A quality that you cannot understand or know the reasons for

describes unclear quality but allows degrees of difficulty rather than impossibility
incomprehensibility
vsobscureness
1 9.9

A state where something is very hard to understand

allows milder forms of being unclear or not easily perceived
abstruseness
vsobscureness
  • Formal
1 9.9

Difficulty understanding something because it is complex or unclear

is broader, covering unclear cases not only complex ones
indecipherability
vsobscureness
1 9.9

A difficulty understanding handwriting, signs, or codes

is broader, applying to unclear perception beyond decoding issues
inexplicability
vsobscureness
1 9.8

A state when something cannot be explained or understood

focuses on unclear quality rather than on failure of explanation
unclearness
vsobscureness
7.7

A situation when something is hard to understand

refers to the same unclear condition but with broader usage
opaqueness
vsobscureness
  • Formal
8.7

How hard it is to understand something because its meaning is unclear

covers unclear quality generally rather than only hidden meaning
abstrusity
vsobscureness
  • Formal
9.9

The quality of being very difficult to understand because it is complex

is the simpler general notion of being unclear or hard to see
reconditeness
vsobscureness
  • Formal
9.9

Difficulty understanding something because it is very complex

is the plain quality of being unclear rather than specifically deep
impenetrability
vsobscureness
9.9

Very hard to understand because the ideas are unclear or complicated

covers general unclearness rather than total incomprehension
indefinability
vsobscureness
9.9

A state where you cannot describe something exactly

is about being generally unclear rather than undefinable specifically
crypticness
vsobscureness
8.9

A quality of being mysterious and hard to understand

is a neutral unclear quality rather than a deliberately mysterious one
enigmaticness
vsobscureness
9.2

A state of being mysterious and hard to understand

is plain unclearness without the added sense of mystery

Antonyms

152 3.0

How easy it is to understand what someone says or writes

7 6.0

Clear thinking or speech that is easy to understand

transparency
  • Specialized
5 4.6

To let light pass so you can see objects behind

How Obscure

obscureness
8.9
opacity
2 8.3
ambiguity
57 6.3
vagueness
8 6.1

Surface Forms

obscureness singular
obscurenesses plural

Morphology

obscureness = obscure (transparent) = obscure + ness

Standard nominalization from the adjective 'obscure' indicating the quality or state of being obscure; meaning follows regular English derivation.

Etymology

Obscureness comes from the Latin obscurus, which means 'dark' or 'hidden', and it is the same root as obscure. So obscureness can mean the 'darkness' of an idea or text that makes it hard to understand.