obscurity
pronunciation
How to pronounce obscurity in British English:
UK [əbˈskjʊərəti]
How to pronounce obscurity in American English:
US [əbˈskjʊrəti]
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- Noun:
- the quality of being unclear or abstruse and hard to understand
- an obscure and unimportant standing; not well known
- the state of being indistinct or indefinite for lack of adequate illumination
Word Origin
- obscurity (n.)
- late 15c., "absence of light;" 1610s with meaning "condition of being unknown;" from obscure (adj.) + -ity; or else from Middle French obscurité, variant of Old French oscureté "darkness, gloom; vagueness, confusion; insignificance" (14c.), from Latin obscuritatem (nominative obscuritas) "darkness, indistinctness, uncertainty," from obscurus.
Example
- 1. Or does your business wallow in relative obscurity ?
- 2. An sf writer 's biggest problem is obscurity , not piracy .
- 3. The book 's subject -- everyday life in an isolated village in 14th-century france -- as well as its narrative ( there isn 't one ) should have led to instant and enduring obscurity .
- 4. Many might be surprised to find one of the more obscure figures in the bible named to this list , but what constitutes obscurity is a subjective opinion .
- 5. Both men fell in with mean political machines-arthur in new york , mr jonathan in the niger delta-and were elevated from total obscurity to the vice-presidency by scheming regional bosses .