obvious

[ ob-vee-uhs ]

adjective

1. easily seen, recognized, or understood; open to view or knowledge; evident:

   an obvious advantage.

   Synonyms: unmistakable, palpable, clear, manifest, plain

   Antonyms: hidden

2. lacking in subtlety.
3. Obsolete. being or standing in the way.

obvious

/ ˈɒbvɪəs /

adjective

1. easy to see or understand; evident
2. exhibiting motives, feelings, intentions, etc, clearly or without subtlety
3. naive or unsubtle

   the play was rather obvious

4. obsolete.
   being or standing in the way

Derived Forms

• ˈobviousness, noun

Other Words From

• obvi·ous·ly adverb
• obvi·ous·ness noun
• non·obvi·ous adjective
• non·obvi·ous·ly adverb
• non·obvi·ous·ness noun
• over·obvi·ous adjective
• pre·obvi·ous adjective
• pre·obvi·ous·ly adverb
• pre·obvi·ous·ness noun
• un·obvi·ous adjective
• un·obvi·ous·ly adverb
• un·obvi·ous·ness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of obvious¹

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin obvius “in the way, lying in the path,” equivalent to ob- ob- ( def ) + vi(a) way ¹( def ) + -us, adjective suffix ( -ous ( def ) )

Word History and Origins

Origin of obvious¹

C16: from Latin obvius, from obviam in the way, from ob- against + via way

Synonym Study

See apparent.

Example Sentences

In 2014, three years before he led the torchlight march at the Unite the Right white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, Spencer tweeted, “Is not population control and reduction the obvious solution to the ravages of climate change?”

From Salon

The benefits of being in pot one are obvious given only the group winners in World Cup qualifying are guaranteed a place at the finals, with the runners-up going into the play-offs.

From BBC

With Hegseth, this is obvious in his longing to kick women out of combat roles.

From Salon

Perhaps the greatest self-made Democratic governance problem with an obvious solution is the housing shortage, but there is no correlation between housing inflation over the past five years and the way people voted.

From Slate

While we can’t say that Stake is paying off Twitter, it’s obvious that Twitter’s turning a blind eye.

From Slate

Related Words

• accessible
• clear
• conspicuous
• discernible
• distinct
• evident
• glaring
• indisputable
• noticeable
• overt
• palpable
• pronounced
• recognizable
• self-evident
• straightforward
• undeniable
• unmistakable
• visible