obscurity

noun

ob·​scu·​ri·​ty äb-ˈskyu̇r-ə-tē 

əb-

plural obscurities

1

: one that is obscure

… peppered with quotes from … heavy hitters, as well as some downright obscurities.

—Penelope Green

2

: the quality or state of being obscure

novels that have faded into obscurity

Synonyms

• ambiguity
• ambiguousness
• darkness
• equivocalness
• equivocation
• inscrutability
• inscrutableness
• murkiness
• mysteriousness
• nebulosity
• nebulousness
• obliqueness
• obliquity
• opacity
• opaqueness

Examples of obscurity in a Sentence

In recent years, the tradition has emerged from obscurity.

He has been living in relative obscurity in a small town in the mountains.

After a promising first novel, she faded into obscurity.

Recent Examples on the Web

Previously, supporting characters only played minor roles, and NPCs existed mostly just to make witty quips and fade back into obscurity. —Josh Broadwell, Rolling Stone, 4 Nov. 2024

Constructing an actual, reliable inventory increasingly important to do given that recent laws have not merely set up costly programs likely to slip into obscurity and non-oversight, but because those spending programs are also freighted with regulatory effect. —Clyde Wayne Crews Jr., Forbes, 22 Oct. 2024

While she’s dipped her toes into lyric writing before and recorded some relative obscurities in the jazz catalog, she’s often thought of as a neo-traditionalist Great American Songbook type. —Steve Hochman, SPIN, 10 Oct. 2024

What saved Reagan from fading into obscurity was what saved Trump: television. —Daniel Immerwahr, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English obscurite, borrowed from Anglo-French oscurté, obscurité, borrowed from Latin obscūritāt-, obscūritās, from obscūrus "dim, dark, imperfectly known, concealed from knowledge, incomprehensible" + -itāt-, -itās -ity — more at obscure entry 1

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

obscurity

noun

ob·​scu·​ri·​ty äb-ˈskyu̇r-ət-ē 

əb-

plural obscurities

1

: something that is obscure

2

: the quality or state of being obscure