How to Use obscure in a Sentence

obscure

1 of 2 adjective
  • The origins of the language are obscure.
  • The movie is full of obscure references that only pop culture enthusiasts will understand.
  • Along the way the sudden sharp turns obscure many of the ride’s lighter drops.
    Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2023
  • Whistler also unearths the more obscure tales from in and around the 210.
    René A. Guzman, San Antonio Express-News, 11 Oct. 2021
  • Their moons, on the other hand, are a bit more obscure.
    Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 7 Mar. 2024
  • The shareholder suit hinges on an obscure part of the law.
    Cynthia Koons, Bloomberg.com, 8 May 2017
  • The bodycam footage of the foot-chase is too obscure to make out these actions.
    Emily Wilder, The Arizona Republic, 26 Nov. 2020
  • But don’t let the cyclical noise obscure the long-term trend.
    Jackson Fordyce, Fortune, 23 Feb. 2023
  • It was even rumored that the then-obscure actor didn't know how to drive a stick.
    Clark Collis, EW.com, 5 Oct. 2021
  • Death comes no less for the famous than for the obscure, for the refined no less than for the crude, for rich and poor alike.
    Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2019
  • Perhaps the most obscure song on this list, this is a fantastic song to clean the garage to.
    Ryan D'agostino, Popular Mechanics, 20 Nov. 2018
  • These bets range from the mundane, like which team will score first, to the highly obscure.
    Grayson Quay, The Week, 14 Feb. 2022
  • Why not start a record label to share obscure music from across the globe?
    Jordan Runtagh, PEOPLE.com, 9 Mar. 2018
  • When something is this complex and obscure, the best approach is to watch and wait.
    Drew Pendergrass, Harper's Magazine, 25 May 2020
  • Many of those moments and places are mundane and obscure.
    David Reamer, Anchorage Daily News, 24 Apr. 2022
  • Pal gave voice to ideas that the architects of the tribunal preferred to obscure.
    Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2023
  • And then there are the barriers posed by any number of obscure trade rules.
    Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 9 July 2020
  • Oscar Moon isn’t named for some obscure soul singer though.
    Matt Wake | Mwake@al.com, al, 10 May 2021
  • But as its more obscure provisions come to light, the line of attack may change.
    Jonathan Weisman, New York Times, 17 Nov. 2021
  • So far as the extant record shows, Aswell’s reasons were obscure.
    Colin Asher, The New Republic, 19 Apr. 2021
  • But the large, long-eared bird-hunters aren’t exactly obscure.
    Jennifer Peltz, Fortune, 20 Mar. 2024
  • But the large, long-eared bird-hunters aren't exactly obscure.
    CBS News, 20 Mar. 2024
  • The thing about obscure and weird horror is that there’s no practical end to it.
    Glenn Kenny, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2017
  • An obscure Townes Van Zandt track wafted through the speakers.
    Ryan Bradley, Travel + Leisure, 16 Apr. 2023
  • Whole, ground, common, obscure, hailing from all over the world.
    Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2020
  • The other half of the mystery, meanwhile, is as obscure as ever.
    Alex Hutchinson, Outside Online, 20 June 2018
  • Men, women and children – both famous and obscure – get the same size.
    Time, 24 Jan. 2020
  • In fact, the more obscure or hyper-focussed a museum is, the more fun its gift shop tends to be.
    Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 17 Dec. 2021
  • Some of the real bands are obscure enough that readers might assume Stone made them.
    Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 19 Feb. 2023
  • And although the drink itself is unfussy as can be, the name is obscure enough to confuse the uninitiated.
    Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 9 Apr. 2024
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obscure

2 of 2 verb
  • They accused the company of trying to obscure the fact that the product poses a health risk.
  • The true history has been obscured by legends about what happened.
  • The figure could be seen dragging a foot across the way to obscure the tracks of the cart.
    Tim Prudente, baltimoresun.com, 23 Sep. 2021
  • In the video, the car is slathered in mud and obscured by the cloudy green water, its trunk popped open.
    Steve Annear, BostonGlobe.com, 9 July 2018
  • Clouds and storms could obscure views in the southern Plains and the western Gulf Coast.
    Elizabeth Both, NBC News, 8 Apr. 2024
  • Thus, only part of the sun will be obscured during the eclipse.
    Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 23 Feb. 2024
  • The weather can change and clouds can obscure your sky view.
    Michael Stillwell, Popular Mechanics, 28 Mar. 2017
  • The moon will appear to obscure between 70 and 80 percent of the sun.
    Camille Fine, USA TODAY, 24 June 2023
  • The suspect’s eyes are drawn as black and beady, and his left ear is obscured.
    Jonathan Sperling, NBC News, 9 Feb. 2018
  • Bright moonlight could dim the view, and clouds could obscure it.
    Gwendolyn Wu, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 Oct. 2021
  • Black men also shot out the street lights to obscure the view of white snipers.
    Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, The New Yorker, 24 June 2021
  • There is good all around us, even in times when bad tries to swirl in and obscure our view.
    Rex Huppke, chicagotribune.com, 22 Dec. 2021
  • Beneath the vest, half the message of her T-shirt was obscured.
    Catherine Lacey, Harper's magazine, 19 Aug. 2019
  • The sun will become about 99% obscured in Cincinnati during the peak of the eclipse.
    Cincinnati Enquirer, The Enquirer, 7 Apr. 2023
  • Trees have filled in behind and around the pavilion and obscure the view to the mountains.
    oregonlive, 9 Nov. 2020
  • Coats came sleeveless or had long arms that obscured the hands.
    Thomas Adamson, The Seattle Times, 22 June 2017
  • All of this means that sometimes a hive or nest is obscured instead of out in the open.
    Korin Miller, SELF, 10 Oct. 2018
  • From Joshua Tree, the moon will appear to obscure between 70 and 80 percent of the sun.
    Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 9 June 2023
  • The sun is often obscured and overshadowed by the trunk of a tree.
    Pelican Bomb, NOLA.com, 12 Dec. 2017
  • But don’t let that obscure the good news, which was about more than one month.
    Alan S. Blinder, WSJ, 24 Nov. 2022
  • At the peak, the moon will obscure approximately 99.4% of the sun.
    Haadiza Ogwude, The Enquirer, 8 Apr. 2024
  • Last year’s joy ride obscures how good these Red Sox still can be.
    Tyler Kepner, New York Times, 27 July 2019
  • The sun will be obscured by the moon, turning day into night for a brief time at its peak.
    Christopher Kuhagen, Journal Sentinel, 8 Apr. 2024
  • Some faces were obscured by the turbans Sikhs wear as a symbol of their faith.
    Vic Ryckaert, Indianapolis Star, 2 July 2018
  • On Wednesday, the ridges were obscured by growing clouds of smoke.
    CBS News, 12 Oct. 2017
  • That means there will be almost no glare from moonlight to obscure your view of the stars.
    National Geographic, 20 Oct. 2017
  • Fill the case with poly pellets to obscure the treasures.
    Lauren Piro, Good Housekeeping, 31 Oct. 2022
  • The distance obscures Grande and her dancer’s movements.
    Kenzie Bryant, Vanities, 24 May 2018
  • And though the details are obscured—the scene of the crime is a pet shop, for instance—the reference is plain.
    E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker, 8 Dec. 2023
  • At the same time, the mystique of the WOW Counties can obscure some important points.
    Craig Gilbert, Journal Sentinel, 10 May 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'obscure.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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