# obvious

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈɑb.vi.əs/ · frequency rank #2,361

## Definitions
1. Easily discovered, seen, or understood; self-explanatory.

## Etymology
16th century, from Latin obvius (“being in the way so as to meet, meeting, easy to access, at hand, ready, obvious”) + -ous, from ob- (“before”) + via (“way”).

## Easily confused with
- **odious** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obvious-vs-odious)
- **obviously** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/obvious-vs-obviously)
- **oblivious** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/oblivious-vs-obvious)

## Common misspellings (9)
`bovious`, `obbvious`, `obivous`, `obviosu`, `obviouss`, `obviuos`, `obvoius`, `obvvious`, `ovbious`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/obvious