obscurely

[ uhb-skyoor-lee ]

adverb

1. in a way that is not expressed clearly or plainly; ambiguously or vaguely:

   This question, although obscurely phrased, is one of the easiest interview questions to answer if you approach it properly.

2. in a way that is hard to discern or identify, or is not clear to the understanding:

   The end of the story made me wonder if Lila had only imagined the whole thing—a reading that felt obscurely troubling to me.

3. in a way that is not prominent or famous or that garners little public attention or importance:

   In the 17th century, the game of cricket grew up obscurely and locally as a game of the common people.

4. in a place that is out of the way and not easy to find or notice:

   The church is small and stands to one side of the village, rather obscurely.

   We trekked to an obscurely located arch of rock, hidden in a remote pocket of northern Arizona.

5. in a dim or murky way; faintly:

   In Poe’s poem, the “sad Soul” doomed to live in Dream-Land sees everything through “darkened glasses,” erroneously and obscurely.

Other Words From

• sub·ob·scure·ly adverb
• un·ob·scure·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of obscurely¹

obscure ( def ) + -ly

Example Sentences

First came Joel Thompson’s “To See the Sky,” obscurely subtitled “an exegesis for orchestra.”

From New York Times

The viral meme infiltrating our fraught politics began obscurely on a New Zealand radio show on which the hosts help rationalize absurd, illogical purchases their listeners share with them.

From Salon

You would have to include the Air Force Association and the obscurely named Submarine Industrial Base Council, among others.

From Salon

But it’s oddly reassuring, and obscurely enlivening, to know they exist.

From Washington Post

Republicans do their "managing" a bit more obscurely, but even more harmfully for the whole idea of democracy.

From Salon