abstruse

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments (2)  · 
“
So much by way of apology for general ideas--abstruse, or intangible, or dry and seedy and wooden, as we may sometimes think them Two things," says Aristotle, "might rightly be attributed to Socrates: inductive reasoning, [160] and universal definitions."

View all »
Definitions (5)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. adjective Difficult to understand; recondite. See Synonyms at ambiguous.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (2)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

  • You say, that "some are abstruse, and some quite clear." —  Stand Firm
  • But, that there are in the Scriptures some things abstruse, and that all things are not quite plain, is a report spread abroad by the impious Sophists by whose mouth you speak here, —  Stand Firm
  • The reasons are abstruse, but Lehman's precarious position seems less linked to the overall credit markets than that of Bear Stearns. —  US Market Commentary from Seeking Alpha
  • But when his reasoning becomes difficult or abstruse, one is won over by Fried's intellectual energy and the way he studies each work with the acuteness that has made his reputation. —  Culture | guardian.co.uk
  • Nam Le is something of an intellectual writer - his vocabulary is extensive and even occasionally abstruse, and one of his greater strengths is giving characters the ability to look deep into themselves and ponder on why they're thinking as they are. —  Taipei Times
More examples »
 

Tags

abstruse hasn't been tagged yet.

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 803 times.

2 people have marked this word as a favorite.

stop updating
On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Add a related word »
Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Suggestions Wordniks Suggest

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Latin abstrūsus, past participle of abstrūdere, to hide : abs-, ab-, away; see ab-1 + trūdere, to push; see treud- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from Latin abstrusus, hidden, concealed, past participle of abstrudere, conceal, thrust away: see abstrude.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »
/æbˈstrus/
by American Heritage

Charts
frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word about once a month.

Recently looked up

cabriole · comity · anode · conductivity · essences

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

if you want me to, i will · apple pie · fattoria · Wenn du Wachsmasken magst: Max macht Wachsmasken. · supercalifragilistichespiralidoso