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obscurity

American  
[uhb-skyoor-i-tee] / əbˈskyʊər ɪ ti /

noun

plural

obscurities

  1. the state or quality of being obscure.

  2. the condition of being unknown.

    He lived in obscurity for years before winning acclaim.

  3. uncertainty of meaning or expression; ambiguity.

  4. an unknown or unimportant person or thing.

  5. darkness; dimness; indistinctness.

obscurity British  
/ əbˈskjʊərɪtɪ /

noun

  1. the state or quality of being obscure

  2. an obscure person or thing

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • nonobscurity noun

Etymology

Origin of obscurity

1470–80; late Middle English < Middle French obscurite < Latin obscūritās, equivalent to obscūr ( us ) obscure + -itās -ity

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.