adjective
-
easy to see or understand; evident
-
exhibiting motives, feelings, intentions, etc, clearly or without subtlety
-
naive or unsubtle
the play was rather obvious
-
obsolete being or standing in the way
Related Words
See apparent.
Other Word Forms
- nonobvious adjective
- nonobviously adverb
- nonobviousness noun
- obviously adverb
- obviousness noun
- overobvious adjective
- preobvious adjective
- preobviously adverb
- preobviousness noun
- unobvious adjective
- unobviously adverb
- unobviousness noun
Etymology
Origin of obvious
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. ) )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Given Conway's lack of impact on the left flank and Curtis' lack of minutes, Ben Gannon-Doak's importance to the national team became increasingly obvious.
From BBC
Saving for a four-year degree once felt like the obvious way to help a child get ahead.
“By working with Nvidia, Marvell gets a vote of approval from the most important company in AI but there are not so obvious benefits,” he writes.
From Barron's
The new rule, which would be put in place if there’s a work stoppage, would allow the officiating department in New York to step in and correct obvious errors made by replacements.
From Los Angeles Times
To the obvious fury of the judge, the prince's stubborn barrister David Sherborne often tested the boundaries of that decision.
From BBC
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.
