U

obscurely

adjective, ob·scur·er, ob·scur·est.

(of meaning) not clear or plain; ambiguous, vague, or uncertain: an obscure sentence in the contract.
not clear to the understanding; hard to perceive: obscure motivations.
(of language, style, a speaker, etc.) not expressing the meaning clearly or plainly.
indistinct to the sight or any other sense; not readily seen, heard, etc.; faint.
inconspicuous or unnoticeable: the obscure beginnings of a great movement.
of little or no prominence, note, fame, or distinction: an obscure French artist.
far from public notice, worldly affairs, or important activities; remote; retired: an obscure little town.
lacking in light or illumination; dark; dim; murky: an obscure back room.
enveloped in, concealed by, or frequenting darkness.
not bright or lustrous; dull or darkish, as color or appearance.
(of a vowel) having the reduced or neutral sound usually represented by the schwa (ə).

verb (used with object), ob·scured, ob·scur·ing.

to conceal or conceal by confusing (the meaning of a statement, poem, etc.).
to make dark, dim, indistinct, etc.
to reduce or neutralize (a vowel) to the sound usually represented by a schwa (ə).

noun

obscurity.

adjective

unclear or abstruse
indistinct, vague, or indefinite
inconspicuous or unimportant
hidden, secret, or remote
(of a vowel) reduced to or transformed into a neutral vowel (ə)
gloomy, dark, clouded, or dim

verb (tr)

to make unclear, vague, or hidden
to cover or cloud over
phonetics to pronounce (a vowel) with articulation that causes it to become a neutral sound represented by (ə)

noun

a rare word for obscurity

adj.c.1400, “dark,” figuratively “morally unenlightened; gloomy,” from Old French obscur, oscur “dark, clouded, gloomy; dim, not clear” (12c.) and directly from Latin obscurus “dark, dusky, shady,” figuratively “unknown; unintelligible; hard to discern; from insignificant ancestors,” from ob “over” (see ob-) + -scurus “covered,” from PIE *(s)keu- “to cover, conceal” (see sky). Related: Obscurely. v.early 15c., “to cover (something), cloud over,” from obscure (adj.) or else from Middle French obscurer, from Latin obscurare “to make dark, darken, obscure,” from obscurus. Related: Obscured; obscuring.