obscure

/əbˈskjʊə(ɹ)/

//əbˈskjʊə(ɹ)// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"obscure" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“obscure” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,965. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,965
frequency rank, English
1,431
“O” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Dark, faint or indistinct.

Corpus desk

Index EN-obscure · obscure · English

obscure · rank #8,965 · 10 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,965
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 1,431
  • PHOTO-FINISH O'Brien

Nearest frequency peer: O'Brien (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “obscure”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “obscure” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

obscure vs obscene
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for obscure
PropertyValue
Headwordobscure
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/əbˈskjʊə(ɹ)/
Letters7
Frequency rank#8,965
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “obscure” sits in English frequency

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).obscurelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “O'Brien” (#8,964), “OT” (#8,966), “Nina” (#8,963). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around obscure (IPA /əbˈskjʊə(ɹ)/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #8,965 among 1,431 “O” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for obscure, with forms such as "boscure", "obbscure", and "obcsure". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "obscene", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English obscure, from Old French obscur, from Latin obscūrus (“dark, dusky, indistinct”), from ob- + *scūrus, from Proto-Italic *skoiros, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₃-. Doublet of oscuro. The correct English form is obscure, spelled O-B-S-C-U-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Dark, faint or indistinct.
  2. 2
    Hidden, out of sight or inconspicuous.
  3. 3
    Difficult to understand; abstruse.
  4. 4
    Not well-known.
  5. 5
    Unknown or uncertain; unclear.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how obscure appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I found myself in an obscure wood.
  2. His lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.

Etymology

From Middle English obscure, from Old French obscur, from Latin obscūrus (“dark, dusky, indistinct”), from ob- + *scūrus, from Proto-Italic *skoiros, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₃-. Doublet of oscuro.

This word in other languages

obscuro(Español)obscur(Français)obskur(Deutsch)obscuro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • boscure
  • obbscure
  • obcsure
  • obsccure
  • obscrue
  • obscuer
  • obscurre
  • obsscure
  • obsucre
  • osbcure

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of obscure - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

boscure2obbscure1obcsure2obsccure1obscrue2obscuer2obscurre1obsscure1
Edit distance from "obscure"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "obscure"?
"obscure" is spelled O-B-S-C-U-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is /əbˈskjʊə(ɹ)/.
What does "obscure" mean?
As an adjective, "obscure" means: Dark, faint or indistinct.
What words are commonly confused with "obscure"?
"obscure" is commonly confused with "obscene". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "obscure"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "obscure" is /əbˈskjʊə(ɹ)/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "obscure"?
From Middle English obscure, from Old French obscur, from Latin obscūrus (“dark, dusky, indistinct”), from ob- + *scūrus, from Proto-Italic *skoiros, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱeh₃-. Doublet of oscuro. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "obscure", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

O'Brien#8,964lengthy#8,953Sherman#8,984Herbert#8,943

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

possessed10 variantssplash10 variantsgenesis10 variantserected10 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "obscure". Here's where to go from here.

  • This headword has one recorded confusable pair with "obscene". View pair
  • 10 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #8,965 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "O" letter cohort. O–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list