obscure
obscure — 形容詞
1. describing a person, place, or work that very few people have heard of, so the n
鮮為人知的
知名度低、少有人聽聞的
describing a person, place, or work that very few people have heard of, so the name carries little fame or wider recognition.
Mei-ling collects records by obscure jazz singers from 1950s Taipei clubs.
美玲收藏一些一九五零年代台北俱樂部、鮮為人知的爵士歌手所灌錄的唱片。
obscure + [creative profession]: signals niche fame
The biography rescued an obscure poet from a century of silence.
這本傳記讓一位沉寂百年、鮮為人知的詩人重新被看見。
rescue / save somebody from being obscure
Professor Lin once taught at an obscure college in rural Hokkaido.
林教授曾在北海道鄉間一所沒沒無聞的學院任教。
Before her Olympic medal, Sara Chen was an obscure runner from Hualien.
在拿下奧運獎牌之前，陳莎拉只是花蓮一位鮮為人知的跑者。
Old film fans love digging up obscure horror movies on faded VHS tapes.
老電影迷喜歡在發黃的 VHS 錄影帶裡挖掘那些鮮為人知的恐怖片。
- little-known
more neutral and journalistic; a direct paraphrase without literary tone.
- unknown
stronger; suggests no fame at all rather than low fame.
- unsung
implies the person deserves more credit than they get.
- famous
widely admired by the general public.
- celebrated
publicly honoured for achievement.
用法筆記
Subject is usually a person, work, or place rather than an event. Often pairs with verbs of recovery (rescue, rediscover, dig up) when describing how a forgotten figure becomes known again.
常見錯誤
2. describing language, ideas, or images whose meaning is so tangled or hidden that
晦澀；費解
意思難懂、表達不清楚的
describing language, ideas, or images whose meaning is so tangled or hidden that a reader or viewer cannot easily work out what is being said or shown.
The poem's final stanza remains obscure even after three readings.
這首詩的最後一段就算讀過三次，仍然晦澀難懂。
remain obscure: meaning resists effort
Tax rules in Taiwan can feel obscure to first-time freelancers.
對第一次接案的自由工作者來說，台灣的稅務規定可能讓人覺得很費解。
obscure to + somebody (the audience who can't grasp it)
Hiroshi gave an obscure answer that left the whole panel puzzled.
宏志給了一個含糊不清的答案，讓在場評審全都一頭霧水。
For some obscure reason, the printer only works on Tuesday afternoons.
不知為何，這台印表機只在週二下午才肯運作。
The teacher rephrased the obscure passage so the children could follow along.
老師把那段晦澀的文字重新講過一遍，好讓孩子們跟得上。
文法句型
obscure to + somebody
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is about clarity of meaning, not fame. Frequently used with abstract head nouns (passage, reasoning, allusion, reference); the fixed phrase 'for some obscure reason' marks the speaker's mild frustration at an inexplicable cause.
常見錯誤
obscure — 動詞
1. to stand or place something in front of an object, view, or sound so that people
遮蔽；擋住
把視線或聲音擋在前面
to stand or place something in front of an object, view, or sound so that people can no longer see or hear it properly.
Thick monsoon clouds obscured the peak of Yushan all afternoon.
厚厚的梅雨雲整個下午都遮蔽了玉山的山頂。
natural agent + obscured + landscape feature
A delivery van obscured the stop sign at the corner of Renai Road.
一輛貨車擋住了仁愛路口的停車標誌。
obscure a road sign / view: traffic context
Marcus held up his hat to obscure his face from the security camera.
馬可仕把帽子拉高，擋住臉，避開保全攝影機。
The new tower will obscure the temple roof from anyone walking down the lane.
新蓋的高塔將會擋住廟宇屋頂，從巷子走過去就再也看不到了。
Heavy curtains obscured the candlelight inside the small chapel.
厚重的窗簾遮蔽了小教堂裡的燭光。
文法句型
obscure something (from somebody)
用法筆記
Subject is typically a physical thing (clouds, walls, vehicles, fabric); object is usually a sight or a faint sound. The 'from + somebody' pattern names the viewer or listener whose access is blocked.
常見錯誤
2. to add detail, jargon, or rhetoric that pulls attention away from a fact or argu
使模糊；混淆
用多餘細節讓重點難以看清
to add detail, jargon, or rhetoric that pulls attention away from a fact or argument, leaving listeners less able to grasp what is really going on.
The minister's long answer obscured the simple truth about the budget cut.
部長那段冗長的回答，讓削減預算的真相變得模糊。
obscure the truth / fact / point
Heavy legal jargon obscures what the contract actually asks of new tenants.
繁雜的法律術語使新房客看不清合約真正要求的是什麼。
abstract subject (jargon, language) + obscures + wh-clause
Dr. Tanaka warned that flashy charts can obscure weak research findings.
田中博士警告說，花俏的圖表可能會掩蓋研究本身的薄弱之處。
Loud arguments at the meeting obscured the real reason for the delay.
會議上的大聲爭執，反而模糊了延期的真正原因。
Her cheerful tone in the email obscured how worried she was about the test.
她在信裡輕快的語氣，掩蓋了她對考試其實有多焦慮。
- clarify
make a point easier to grasp.
- illuminate
literary; throw fresh light on a difficult idea.
文法句型
obscure the fact / truth / point that...
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: here the object is abstract (truth, fact, meaning, reason), and the result is mental confusion rather than blocked vision. Often passive: 'the point was obscured by...'.
常見錯誤
obscure — 名詞
1. the state of being dim, hidden, or poorly known — used in old or literary writin
幽暗；湮沒
古語中指幽暗或默默無聞的狀態
the state of being dim, hidden, or poorly known — used in old or literary writing as a poetic alternative to the more common noun 'obscurity'.
The hermit chose a life of obscure deep in the Yilan mountains.
那位隱士選擇在宜蘭深山裡過著默默無聞的生活。
literary substitute for 'obscurity'
After one bad novel, the author slipped back into obscure for many years.
那本失敗的小說之後，這位作家有好多年再度陷入沉寂。
into obscure: archaic phrasing
The lantern faded, and the cave fell into a soft obscure of grey stone.
燈籠光線轉弱，山洞陷入一片柔和的灰石幽暗之中。
Nineteenth-century poets sometimes wrote of the obscure of dawn over still lakes.
十九世紀的詩人有時會描寫靜湖之上、黎明時分的那片幽暗。
Through the obscure of the chapel, Brother Anselm could just make out the altar candle.
在禮拜堂的幽暗之中，安瑟兄弟勉強能辨認出祭壇上的那根蠟燭。
- fame
wide public knowledge of a person.
用法筆記
Almost never appears in modern prose; learners should recognise it in older texts but write 'obscurity' instead. Treat as a reading-only item, not a productive one.