abstruse
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abstruse
- /əbˈstɹuːs/ UK
- /əbˈstɹus/ Canada, US
- /æb-/ Canada, US
- /əbˈstɹʉs/ Northern Ireland, Scotland
Rhymes with -uːs
Where it comes from
PIE word
*h₂epó
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”)).
Cognates
* Catalan abstrús
* German abstrus (“abstruse”)
* Italian astruso (“abstruse”)
* Middle French abstruse (modern French abstrus, abstruse (“(derogatory, literary) abstruse”)
* Portuguese abstruso (“abstruse”)
* Spanish abstruso (“abstruse”)
adjective abstruser · more abstruse · abstrusest · most abstruse
-
Difficult to comprehend or understand; obscure.
Some time the good makithe an ile end⸝ ãd the ile a godd. In this opiniõ⸝ and in ſcrutable miſterie be werithe all his wittes⸝ and at the end of his cogitacions⸝ fyndithe more abſtruſe⸝ and doutfull obiections thẽ at the beginning⸝ […]
Similar: abstrusive, arcane, cryptic, esoteric, recondite, abstruse, Chinese, dense, enigmatic, fathomless, bottomless, Greek · Opposite: clear, obvious, understandable, apprehensible, limpid, comprehensible, explainable, explicable, explicatable, fathomable, graspable, illuminable
-
Concealed or hidden; secret.
O vvho is he that could carrie nevves to our olde father, that thou vvert but aliue, although thou vvert hidden in the moſt abſtruſe dungeons of Barbarie; for his riches, my brothers and mine vvould fetch thee from thence.
Similar: abstrused, clandestine, surreptitious, abstruse, behind the scenes, catlike, backroom, backstairs, stealth, cloak-and-dagger, concealed, confidential · Opposite: open, patent, unconcealed, unhidden
Translations
Every language
adj difficult to comprehend or understand — see also obscure
| Español | abstruso, conceptuoso |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 심오(深奧)한 simohan |
| 日本語 | 晦渋 kaijū, 難解 nankai |
| 中文 | 秘 bì, mì, 晦澀 /晦涩 huìsè, 艱澀 /艰涩 jiānsè, 艱深 /艰深 jiānshēn, 難解 /难解 nánjiě, 深奧 /深奥 shēn'ào |
| हिन्दी | बारीक bārīk |
| Português | abstruso |
| Français | abstrus, abscons |
| Deutsch | abstrus, unfassbar |
| Italiano | astruso, ermetico |
| Ελληνικά | ασαφής asafís, δυσνόητος dysnóitos |
| Română | confuz |
| Русский | мудрёный mudrjónyj |
| Tiếng Việt | huyền diệu |
Talk about this word "abstruse." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/abstruse. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. abstruse. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/abstruse "abstruse." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/abstruse.Cite this
@misc{abstruse_2026,
title = {abstruse},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/abstruse},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
