Synonyms for abstruse
- adjective
Most common
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Recondite — difficult to comprehend or understand; obscure
esoteric, obscure, incomprehensible, abstract, mysterious, arcane, complex, cryptic, difficult, vague, profound, transcendental, dense, occult, hard, inscrutable, intricate, mystical, enigmatic, mystic, inexplicable, recondite dated
2. Dark — concealed or hidden; secret
dark, hidden, secret, obfuscated, obscured, concealed, covered, surreptitious, covert, latent, clandestine, secluded, undercover, cloak-and-dagger, veiled, furtive, hush-hush, stealthy, abstrused dated
Other
Definitions
- adj. 1
Difficult to comprehend or understand; obscure.
- adj. 2
Concealed or hidden; secret.
Related words
- Word family
- abstruseness abstrusity abstrused abstrusive
Example sentences
- mysterious A mysterious spaceship was flying away from Earth.
- abstract Young children are incapable of abstract thinking.
- esoteric Kabbalah is an esoteric tradition within Judaism.
- incomprehensible This language is incomprehensible to me when spoken.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| abstruse | steady | |
| mysterious | rising | |
| abstract | falling | |
| esoteric | rising | |
| incomprehensible | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- hard1, dark1, deep1
- 5 letters
- dense1, vague1
- 6 letters
- secret2, hidden2, mystic2, covert2, occult2, latent2, veiled1, arcane2
- 7 letters
- complex2, covered2, obscure2, cryptic2, furtive2
- 8 letters
- abstract2, profound2, mystical3, esoteric4, obscured2, secluded3, stealthy2
- 9 letters
- difficult3, concealed2, intricate3, enigmatic4, recondite3, abstrused
- 10 letters
- mysterious4, undercover4, obfuscated
- 11 letters
- clandestine3, inscrutable4
- 12 letters
- inexplicable5
- 13 letters
- surreptitious4
- 14 letters
- transcendental4
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (secret2 = 2 syllables).