Abstruse vs. Obscure — What's the Difference?

Difficult to understand; obscure

Deficient in light; dark

Difficult to understand; recondite

So faintly perceptible as to lack clear delineation; indistinct

Difficult to comprehend or understand; obscure.

Indistinctly heard; faint.

(obsolete) Concealed or hidden; secret.

(Linguistics) Having the reduced, neutral sound represented by schwa (ə).

Concealed or hidden out of the way.

Far from centers of human population

Remote from apprehension; difficult to be comprehended or understood; recondite; as, abstruse learning.

Out of sight; hidden

Difficult to penetrate; incomprehensible to one of ordinary understanding or knowledge;

Not readily noticed or seen; inconspicuous

Of undistinguished or humble station or reputation

Not clearly understood or expressed; ambiguous or vague

To make dim, indistinct, or impossible to see

To make difficult to discern mentally or understand

To diminish the stature of; overshadow or detract from

(Linguistics) To reduce (a vowel) to the neutral sound represented by schwa (ə).

Something obscure or unknown.

Dark, faint or indistinct.

Hidden, out of sight or inconspicuous.

Difficult to understand.

Not well-known.

Unknown or uncertain; unclear.

(transitive) To render obscure; to darken; to make dim; to keep in the dark; to hide; to make less visible, intelligible, legible, glorious, beautiful, or illustrious.

(transitive) To hide, put out of sight etc.

To conceal oneself; to hide.

Covered over, shaded, or darkened; destitute of light; imperfectly illuminated; dusky; dim.

Of or pertaining to darkness or night; inconspicuous to the sight; indistinctly seen; hidden; retired; remote from observation; unnoticed.

Not noticeable; humble; mean.

Not easily understood; not clear or legible; abstruse or incomprehensible; as, an obscure passage or inscription.

Not clear, full, or distinct; clouded; imperfect; as, an obscure view of remote objects.

To render obscure; to darken; to make dim; to keep in the dark; to hide; to make less visible, intelligible, legible, glorious, beautiful, or illustrious.

To conceal one's self; to hide; to keep dark.

Obscurity.

Make less visible or unclear;

Make unclear, indistinct, or blurred;

Make obscure or unclear;

Make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing;

Make difficult to perceive by sight;

Not clearly understood or expressed;

Marked by difficulty of style or expression;

Difficult to find;

Not famous or acclaimed;

Not drawing attention;

Remote and separate physically or socially;