obscurity
Appearance
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle English obscurite, obscuryte, from Middle French obscurité and its etymon Latin obscūritās. By surface analysis, obscure + -ity.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /əbˈskjʊəɹɪti/, /əbˈskjɔːɹɪti/
- (General American) IPA(key): /əbˈskjʊɹɪti/, /əbˈskjɝɪti/
Audio (US): (file) - Hyphenation: ob‧scur‧ity
Noun
[edit]obscurity (countable and uncountable, plural obscurities)
- (literary) Darkness; the absence of light.
- 1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 6, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:
- The night was considerably clearer than anybody on board her desired when the schooner Ventura headed for the land. It rose in places, black and sharp against the velvety indigo, over her dipping bow, though most of the low littoral was wrapped in obscurity.
- 1919, W[illiam] Somerset Maugham, “chapter 24”, in The Moon and Sixpence, [New York, N.Y.]: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers […], →OCLC:
- The state of being unknown; a thing that is unknown.
- 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 5, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:
- The departure was not unduly prolonged. […] Within the door Mrs. Spoker hastily imparted to Mrs. Love a few final sentiments […] ; a deep, guttural instigation to the horse; and the wheels of the waggonette crunched heavily away into obscurity.
- The quality of being difficult to understand; a thing that is difficult to understand.
Synonyms
[edit]- (the state of being unknown): unknownness
Antonyms
[edit]- (antonym(s) of “the state of being known”): fame
- (antonym(s) of “the state of being clear”): clarity
Derived terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]darkness; the absence of light
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The state of being unknown; a thing that is unknown
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The quality of being difficult to understand; a thing that is difficult to understand
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Categories:
- English terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)ḱeh₃-
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms suffixed with -ity
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English literary terms
- English terms with quotations