abstruse
abs·truse/əbˈstɹus/adjective
abstruse is spelled A-B-S-T-R-U-S-E: 8 letters and 2 syllables (abs·truse). It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 81,375th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, abstruse means “Difficult to comprehend or understand; obscure” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in abstruse?
| Letters | 8: A-B-S-T-R-U-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: abs·truse |
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 81,375th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is abstruse?
Abstruse appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 81,375th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce abstruse?
- UK /əbˈstɹuːs/
- US /əbˈstɹus/
- US /æb-/
Abstruse has 2 syllables, split abs·truse in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-abstruse.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with abstruse?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as abstruse from its last stressed vowel (/us/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of abstruse
- abstruser comparative
- more abstruse comparative
- abstrusest superlative
- most abstruse superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does abstruse mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Difficult to comprehend or understand; obscure.
- 2
obsoleteConcealed or hidden; secret.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Abstruse in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense difficult to comprehend or understand – see also obscure:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | abstrus, abscons |
| German | abstrus, unfassbar |
| Portuguese | abstruso |
| Spanish | abstruso, conceptuoso |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does abstruse come from?
Learned borrowing from Latin abstrūsus (“concealed, hidden; having been concealed”), an adjective use of the perfect passive participle of abstrūdō (“to conceal, hide; to push or thrust away”), from abs- (from ab- (prefix meaning ‘away; from; away from’)) + trūdō (“to push, shove; to thrust”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *trewd- (“to push; to thrust”)).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).