arcane

adjective

ar·​cane är-ˈkān 

: known or knowable only to a few people : secret

arcane rites

an arcane ritual

broadly : mysterious, obscure

arcane explanations

arcane technical details

Synonyms of arcane

• esoteric
• profound

Examples of arcane in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The problem, apart from perennial budget pressures, is that interest in election mechanics — a technical and arcane subject if ever there was one — is episodic and fleeting. —Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 26 Mar. 2026

Marta Díaz de Lope Díaz’s ‘Another League’ chronicles the defiant birth of women’s soccer in the waning years of Francisco Franco’s arcane dictatorship in early 1970s Spain – today the reigning world champions after winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2023. —Ed Meza, Variety, 9 Mar. 2026

The process of tariff collection is an arcane one and involves companies paying a preliminary amount based on current import duties that are set out in guidelines updated by the White House. —Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 20 Feb. 2026

The arthouse references might sound arcane, but this is Chen’s most accessible and borderline commercial effort to date. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 16 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin arcānus "secret, private, intimate," from arca "chest, coffer, box" + -ānus -an entry 2 — more at ark

First Known Use

1547, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for arcane

• abstain
• airplane
• alkane
• arraign
• attain
• backplane
• betaine
• biplane
• blockchain
• butane
• campaign
• cetane