剑桥高阶英汉双解词典 - obscure collapse

obscure
[UK]/əb'skjʊər/ [US]/-'skjʊr/
adjective
NOT KNOWN 不知名的
* not known to many people
无名的；鲜为人知的；默默无闻的

1. an obscure island in the Pacific
太平洋中的无名小岛

2. an obscure 12th-century mystic
12世纪一位鲜为人知的神秘主义者

[UK]/əb'skjʊər/ [US]/-'skjʊr/
adjective
NOT CLEAR 不清楚的
* not clear and difficult to understand or see
费解的，晦涩的；模糊的，朦胧的；不清楚的

1. Official policy has changed, for reasons that remain obscure.
官方的政策已改变，原因尚不清楚。

2. His answers were obscure and confusing.
他的回答模糊不清，令人费解。

[UK]/əb'skjʊər/ [US]/-'skjʊr/
verb [T]
* to prevent something from being seen or heard
遮掩；遮蔽；使不分明

1. Two new skyscrapers had sprung up, obscuring the view from her window.
两座新摩天大楼拔地而起，挡住了她窗外的风景。

2. The sun was obscured by clouds.
太阳被云层遮住了。

* to make something difficult to discover and understand
隐藏，掩盖；使难理解，使晦涩

1. Managers deliberately obscured the real situation from federal investigators.
经理们故意对联邦调查人员掩盖真实情况。

柯林斯COBUILD高阶英汉双解学习词典 - obscure collapse

obscure ★★☆☆☆
1.ADJ-GRADED 能被表示程度的副词或介词词组修饰的形容词无名的；鲜为人知的；默默无闻的 If something or someone is obscure, they are unknown, or are known by only a few people.

  • The origin of the custom is obscure...

    这一习俗的起源鲜为人知。

  • The hymn was written by an obscure Greek composer for the 1896 Athens Olympics.

    这首赞歌是希腊一位名不见经传的作曲家为1896年的雅典奥运会创作的。

2.ADJ-GRADED 能被表示程度的副词或介词词组修饰的形容词（通常指因内容繁琐）晦涩的，费解的，难懂的 Something that is obscure is difficult to understand or deal with, usually because it involves so many parts or details.

  • The contracts are written in obscure language...

    这些合同的语言晦涩难懂。

  • Richard's statement was disgracefully obscure.

    理查德的声明隐晦费解，真是丢人。

3.VERB 动词遮掩；遮蔽；使模糊不清 If one thing obscures another, it prevents it from being seen or heard properly.

【语法信息】：V n

  • Trees obscured his vision; he couldn't see much of the Square's southern half...

    树木遮挡了他的视线，南半广场的一大部分他都无法看清。

  • One wall of the parliament building is now almost completely obscured by a huge banner.

    议会大楼的一面墙现在几乎被一条巨型横幅完全盖住了。

4.VERB 动词使晦涩；使费解；使难懂 To obscure something means to make it difficult to understand.

【语法信息】：V n

  • ...the jargon that frequently obscures educational writing...

    经常让普教著作变得艰深晦涩的术语

  • This issue has been obscured by recent events.

    最近发生的一些事件使这一问题变得混淆不清。

牛津高阶英汉双解 第7版 - obscure collapse

obscure
ob·scure / Eb5skjuE(r); NAmE Eb5skjur / adjective1. not well known
   无名的；鲜为人知的
   SYN  unknown :
   an obscure German poet
   一个名不见经传的德国诗人
   He was born around 1650 but his origins remain obscure.
   他生于 1650 年前后,但身世不详。
2. difficult to understand
   费解的；难以理解的:
   I found her lecture very obscure.
   我觉得她的讲座非常费解。
    For some obscure reason, he failed to turn up.
   他莫名其妙地没有如期露面。
• ob·scure·ly adv.:
   They were making her feel obscurely worried (= for reasons that were difficult to understand).
   他们让她无缘无故地担忧起来。 verb [VN]
   to make it difficult to see, hear or understand sth
   使模糊；使隐晦；使费解:
   The view was obscured by fog.
   雾中景色朦胧。
   We mustn't let these minor details obscure the main issue.
   我们不能让枝节问题掩盖主要问题。

牛津搭配语词典 第2版 - obscure collapse

obscure

I. verb

• ADVERB completely, totally | almost | largely | half, partially, partly, slightly, somewhat | deliberately All trace of his working-class background was deliberately ~d. | easily Solo passages in this register are very easily ~d by other instruments.

• VERB + OBSCURE serve to, tend to The emphasis on social integration often served to ~ the real differences within the community. | allow sth to

• PREPOSITION behind The moon was ~d behind a wall of cloud. | in The right-hand side of the face is ~d in deep shadow.

• PHRASES ~ the fact that …  These figures ~ the fact that a lot of older people live in poverty. | ~ sth from view The house was ~d from view by a wall.

Obscure is used with these nouns as the subject: cloud, fog, mist
Obscure is used with these nouns as the object: distinction, extent, fact, reality, view, vision

II. adj.

• VERBS be, seem | become The origins of the tradition have become ~. | remain The motives behind this decision remain somewhat ~.

• ADVERB extremely, fairly, very, etc. | completely, totally | largely | relatively | wilfully/willfully (esp. BrE)
Obscure is used with these nouns: corner, disease, jargon, journal, origin, reference

新牛津英语同义词词典 - obscure collapse

obscure

adjective
1 he was born about 1650 though his origins and parentage remain obscure | obscure references to Proust
UNCLEAR , uncertain, indeterminate, mysterious, puzzling, perplexing, baffling, mystifying, confusing, enigmatic, inexplicable, unexplained, concealed, hidden, unfathomable, fathomless, incomprehensible, impenetrable, vague, ambiguous, Delphic, indefinite, indistinct, hazy, foggy, nebulous, equivocal, doubtful, dubious, opaque, oblique, oracular, cryptic, elliptical;
ABSTRUSE , recondite, arcane, esoteric, recherché, occult; informal as clear as mud.
-opposite(s): CLEAR, PLAIN, DISTINCT.

2 an obscure Peruvian painter | an obscure corner of the world
LITTLE KNOWN , unknown, unheard of, undistinguished, insignificant, unimportant, inconsequential, inconspicuous, unnoticed, nameless, anonymous, minor, humble, lowly, unrenowned, unsung, unrecognized, unhonoured, inglorious, forgotten; out of the way, off the beaten track, far-flung, remote, distant, hidden, secluded, godforsaken.
-opposite(s): FAMOUS, RENOWNED.

3 grey and obscure on the horizon rose a low island | the far end of the room was obscure
INDISTINCT , faint, vague, ill-defined, unclear, blurred, blurry, misty, hazy, foggy, veiled, cloudy, clouded, nebulous, fuzzy; dark, dim, unlit, black, murky, sombre, gloomy, shady, shadowy; poetic/literary dusky, tenebrous, darkling, crepuscular; rare caliginous, Cimmerian.

verb
1 grey clouds obscured the sun
HIDE , conceal, cover, veil, shroud, screen, mask, cloak, cast a shadow over, shadow, envelop, mantle, disguise, camouflage, block, block out, blank out, obliterate, eclipse, overshadow; poetic/literary enshroud, bedim, benight; rare obnubilate, adumbrate.
-opposite(s): REVEAL.

2 recent events have obscured rather than illuminated the issue
CONFUSE , muddle, complicate, obfuscate, cloud, blur, muddy, becloud, befog, conceal, hide, veil, overcloud; muddy the waters.
-opposite(s): CLARIFY, ILLUMINATE.



AWKWARD SYNONYMS
obscure; abstruse; recondite
Obscure is the general term for something that is unclear or not easy to understand; abstruse and recondite are more formal terms.
Obscure often expresses dissatisfaction at one's ignorance of or inability to identify something (causation of much mental handicap is obscure | some obscure, niggling, unexplained bitterness), or, more critically, refers to something that's not sufficiently clearly expressed (the legislation is ambiguous or obscure). A reference to an obscure back-bench MP is a dismissive comment, suggesting that this is someone not only little known but deservedly so.
Abstruse means ‘difficult to understand’: the most abstruse philosophical inquiry.
Recondite denotes topics that are known and understood by only a few experts: recondite though her theme may be, she demonstrates that it is not without relevance. There is often a critical suggestion that difficulty or obscurity has been deliberately sought out or magnified.

词源记忆 - obscure collapse

obscure 使费解，模糊
来自拉丁语obscurus, 黑暗的，遮盖的，来自ob-, 在上，表强调；-scurus, 遮盖的，来自PIE→*skeu, 遮盖，隐藏，词源同sky, house, hide。引申词义使费解，模糊。