1
as in esoteric
difficult for one of ordinary knowledge or intelligence to understand
grammatical rules that seem arcane to generations of students who were never taught grammar in the first place
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Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in cryptic
having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning
the rebate form uses arcane language, the only purpose of which seems to be to disqualify buyers from actually getting a rebate
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in mysterious
being beyond one's powers to know, understand, or explain
my predecessor in this job obviously had his own arcane system for filing things, and so I haven't a clue as to where anything is
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of arcane
These suits are all about arcane legal questions of how authorities should look at one transaction versus another.
—
Brady Dale, Axios, 21 Feb. 2025
Governmental assistance is an arcane topic that is potentially too boring for the mainstream press to cover.
—Shivaram Rajgopal, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2025
These include arcane regulation and insider dealing by Ukrainian businessmen and politicians, which could limit any profits from the arrangement.
—Constant Méheut, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2025
Scientific agencies have been staffed by scientists; scientists have set scientific priorities; scientists have ensured the integrity of the science that is done, on the theory that scientists know their own complicated, technical, sometimes arcane work best.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for arcane
Brady Dale, Axios, 21 Feb. 2025
Governmental assistance is an arcane topic that is potentially too boring for the mainstream press to cover.
—Shivaram Rajgopal, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2025
These include arcane regulation and insider dealing by Ukrainian businessmen and politicians, which could limit any profits from the arrangement.
—Constant Méheut, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2025
Scientific agencies have been staffed by scientists; scientists have set scientific priorities; scientists have ensured the integrity of the science that is done, on the theory that scientists know their own complicated, technical, sometimes arcane work best.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for arcane
Recent Examples of Synonyms for arcane
Adjective
-
Cordelia Cupp is a collector of esoteric information and her desire to learn things about the White House while also learning things about a crime borders on charming.—
Daniel Fienberg,
The Hollywood Reporter,
20 Mar. 2025
-
The esoteric will never sit completely comfortably in the mainstream, because that’s the point of it: to be unusual, bizarre, absurd.—
Eliza Goodpasture,
ARTnews.com,
18 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The Bachelor alum took to social media on Wednesday, March 19, with a cryptic message seemingly responding to her ex-boyfriend Brendan Morais’ hard launch with his new girlfriend Serene Russell.—
Liza Esquibias,
People.com,
21 Mar. 2025
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The episode ends with a cryptic phone call to Luca from a family member, hinting at their ties to the resort.—
Martine Paris,
Forbes,
20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
The first season saw Charles eventually wrap the case and leave the nursing home to return to his life, but ended with the PI calling him again to seek his help on a mysterious new case.—
Lauren Huff,
EW.com,
28 Mar. 2025
-
Despite Shauna trying to blame her for all the mysterious things happening to her in season 3, Melissa says that Shauna is the problem, the real anti-hero, so to speak.—
Stacy Lambe,
People.com,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Noah Davis’s premature death in 2015, at just 32, deprived the world of a singular talent whose work combined technical mastery with a profound empathy for everyday life.—
Nargess Banks,
Forbes,
23 Mar. 2025
-
Stardust is at the forefront of an alternative path: One in which private companies drive the development, and perhaps deployment, of technologies that experts say could have profound consequences for the planet.—
Ramin Skibba,
WIRED,
22 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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That would be Mark Rylance as Henry’s lord privy seal, Thomas Cromwell, an endlessly fascinating and ambiguous figure—brilliant, scheming, moral—whom Rylance animates with gravity and kaleidoscopic skill.—
Taylor Antrim,
Vogue,
20 Mar. 2025
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An unlikely ally to Tanner and Luca as tensions rise, but loyalties remain ambiguous.—
Martine Paris,
Forbes,
20 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Founded on the ethos of art as a form of mystic healing, the label reimagines the family heirloom—and invites its patrons to examine their relationship with objects.—
Nia Shumake,
Essence,
3 Feb. 2025
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Healy Lake members have long considered their dogs to be mystic companions, according to Combs.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
4 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Chicagoans may be following the back and forth between the City Council and Chicago Public Schools leadership over an obscure pension payment and wonder how does this affect me?—
Jason Ervin,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Mar. 2025
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Couple that with obscure sourcing practices, harmful environmental impacts, and questionable animal welfare practices, and the cost of it all starts to add up.—
Sam Delgado,
Vox,
17 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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An uncanny all-star cast (including Ken Cosgrove actor Aaron Staton); a resplendent recreation of postwar Los Angeles; a spate of unsolved crimes.—
Lewis Gordon,
Vulture,
19 Mar. 2025
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Going from the staid post-Impressionism of her artistic education at London’s Slade School of Fine Art to a world of dreams, magic, and the uncanny opened a door.—
Eliza Goodpasture,
ARTnews.com,
18 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Arcane.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/arcane. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.
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