confuse vs obscure what difference

what is difference between confuse and obscure

English

Etymology

Back formation from Middle English confused (“frustrated, ruined”), from Anglo-Norman confus, from Latin confusus, past participle of confundō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kənˈfjuːz/
• Rhymes: -uːz

Verb

confuse (third-person singular simple present confuses, present participle confusing, simple past and past participle confused)

1. (transitive) to puzzle, perplex, baffle, bewilder (somebody); to afflict by being complicated, contradictory, or otherwise difficult to understand

2. (transitive) To mix up, muddle up (one thing with another); to mistake (one thing for another).

3. (transitive) To mix thoroughly; to confound; to disorder.
4. (transitive, dated) To make uneasy and ashamed; to embarrass.
5. (transitive, obsolete) To rout; discomfit.
6. (intransitive) To be confused.

Synonyms

• flummox
• mistake
• See also Thesaurus:confuse

Related terms

• confused
• confusing
• confusion

Translations

See also

• discombobulate

References

• confuse at OneLook Dictionary Search
• confuse in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ̃.fyz/

Adjective

confuse

1. feminine singular of confus

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /konˈfu.ze/
• Rhymes: -uze

Verb

confuse f pl

1. feminine plural of confuso

Adjective

confuse f pl

1. feminine plural of confuso

Verb

confuse

1. third-person singular past historic of confondere

Latin

Participle

cōnfūse

1. vocative masculine singular of cōnfūsus

References

• confuse in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• confuse in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• confuse in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• confuse in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

English

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.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /əbˈskjʊə(ɹ)/, /əbˈskjɔː(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /əbˈskjʊɹ/, /əbˈskjɝ/
• Rhymes: -ʊə(ɹ), -ɔː(ɹ), -ɜː(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: ob‧scure

Adjective

obscure (comparative obscurer or more obscure, superlative obscurest or most obscure)

1. Dark, faint or indistinct.
   • 1892, Denton Jaques Snider, Inferno, 1, 1-2 (originally by Dante Alighieri)

     I found myself in an obscure wood.

   • His lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.

2. Hidden, out of sight or inconspicuous.
   • 1606, John Davies of Hereford, Bien Venu

     the obscure corners of the earth

3. Difficult to understand.
   • 1953, Samuel Beckett, Watt

     The lock was of a kind that Watt could not pick. Watt could pick simple locks, but he could not pick obscure locks.

4. Not well-known.
5. Unknown or uncertain; unclear.

   The etymological roots of the word “blizzard” are obscure and open to debate.

Usage notes

• The comparative obscurer and superlative obscurest, though formed by valid rules for English, are less common than more obscure and most obscure.

Synonyms

• (dark): cimmerian, dingy; See also Thesaurus:dark
• (faint or indistinct): fuzzy, ill-defined; See also Thesaurus:indistinct
• (hidden, out of sight): occluded, secluded; See also Thesaurus:hidden
• (difficult to understand): fathomless, inscrutable; See also Thesaurus:incomprehensible
• (not well-known): enigmatic, esoteric, mysterious; See also Thesaurus:arcane

Antonyms

• clear

Derived terms

• obscurable
• unobscurable
• obscureness

Related terms

• obscurity
• obscuration

Translations

Verb

obscure (third-person singular simple present obscures, present participle obscuring, simple past and past participle obscured)

1. (transitive) To render obscure; to darken; to make dim; to keep in the dark; to hide; to make less visible, intelligible, legible, glorious, beautiful, or illustrious.
   • c. 1688′, William Wake, Preparation for Death

     There is scarce any duty which has been so obscured in the writings of learned men as this.

2. (transitive) To hide, put out of sight etc.
   • 1994, Bill Watterson, Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat, page 62

     I realized that the purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning, and inhibit clarity.

3. (intransitive, obsolete) To conceal oneself; to hide.

   • How! There’s bad news. / I must obscure, and hear it.

Synonyms

• (to render obscure; to darken; dim): becloud, bedarken, bedim, bemist

Translations

Further reading

• obscure in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• obscure in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Cuberos

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔp.skyʁ/

Adjective

obscure

1. feminine singular of obscur

Anagrams

• courbes

Latin

Adjective

obscūre

1. vocative masculine singular of obscūrus

References

• obscure in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• obscure in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• obscure in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette

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