Obscure means hidden, unclear, or difficult to understand. When fog makes the road obscure, you can barely see where you're going. When a teacher's explanation is obscure, students leave class confused about what they were supposed to learn.

The word often describes things that exist but remain unknown or forgotten. An obscure historical fact might be true and interesting, yet few people know about it. An obscure book sits in the library unread, while popular books get checked out constantly. Scientists sometimes make discoveries about obscure species of insects that most people have never heard of.

Obscure can also be a verb meaning to hide or conceal something. Thick clouds obscure the sun. A politician might obscure the truth by giving complicated answers that avoid the real question. Trees can obscure your view of the ocean.

Related words help clarify the meaning: obscurity is the state of being unknown or hidden, like a talented musician living in obscurity before finally getting discovered. Something obscured has been made unclear or hidden. The opposite of obscure is clear, obvious, or well-known.

When you encounter something obscure, whether it's an old word, a forgotten inventor, or instructions that don't make sense, you're facing something that takes extra effort to understand or uncover.