obscure

Adjective

• remote and separate physically or socially
  • existed over the centuries as a world apart
    
  • preserved because they inhabited a place apart- W.H.Hudson
    
  • tiny isolated villages remote from centers of civilization
    
  • an obscure village
    

• not drawing attention
  • an unnoticeable cigarette burn on the carpet
    
  • an obscure flaw
    

• not famous or acclaimed
  • an obscure family
    
  • unsung heroes of the war
    

• difficult to find
  • hidden valleys
    
  • a hidden cave
    
  • an obscure retreat
    

• marked by difficulty of style or expression
  • much that was dark is now quite clear to me
    
  • those who do not appreciate Kafka's work say his style is obscure
    

• not clearly understood or expressed
  • an obscure turn of phrase
    
  • an impulse to go off and fight certain obscure battles of his own spirit-Anatole Broyard
    
  • their descriptions of human behavior become vague, dull, and unclear- P.A.Sorokin
    
  • vague...forms of speech...have so long passed for mysteries of science- John Locke
    

Verb

• make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing
  • a hidden message
    
  • a veiled threat
    

• reduce a vowel to a neutral one, such as a schwa

• make obscure or unclear
  • The distinction was obscured
    

• make unclear, indistinct, or blurred
  • Her remarks confused the debate
    
  • Their words obnubilate their intentions
    

• make less visible or unclear
  • The stars are obscured by the clouds
    
  • the big elm tree obscures our view of the valley
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  apart(p) , isolated , unnoticeable , unknown , unsung , hidden , dark , vague , blot out , obliterate , veil , hide , bedim , overcloud , confuse , blur , obnubilate , befog , becloud , haze over , fog , cloud , mist