All 10 Uses of
obscure
in
Don Quixote
- …there is no need for you to go a-begging for aphorisms from philosophers, precepts from Holy Scripture, fables from poets, speeches from orators, or miracles from saints; but merely to take care that your style and diction run musically, pleasantly, and plainly, with clear, proper, and well-placed words, setting forth your purpose to the best of your power, and putting your ideas intelligibly, without confusion or obscurity.
Chpt 1.0 *obscurity = the quality of being difficult to understand
- The girls were looking at him and straining their eyes to make out the features which the clumsy visor obscured...
Chpt 1.1-2 *obscured = hid or made difficult to see
- ...placed themselves on a rising ground from which the two droves that Don Quixote made armies of might have been plainly seen if the clouds of dust they raised had not obscured them and blinded the sight;
Chpt 1.17-18obscured = hid or made less visible or understandable
- driving the old books into obscurity before the light of the new ones
Chpt 1.47-48 *obscurity = the condition of not being known by many people
- Would to heaven that he had swept off our heads with his enormous scimitar instead of obscuring the light of our countenances with these wool-combings that cover us!
Chpt 2.39-40obscuring = making less visible or understandable
- He saw the light of the glory of his achievements obscured; the hopes of the promises lately made him swept away like smoke before the wind; Rocinante, he feared, was crippled for life, and his master's bones out of joint; for if he were only shaken out of his madness it would be no small luck.
Chpt 2.63-64obscured = hid or made less visible or understandable
- of the Round Table, the Twelve of France and the Nine Worthies; and he who is to consign to oblivion the Platirs, the Tablantes, the Olivantes and Tirantes, the Phoebuses and Belianises, with the whole herd of famous knights-errant of days gone by, performing in these in which I live such exploits, marvels, and feats of arms as shall obscure their brightest deeds.†
Chpt 1.19-20
- This, señor, is the Knight of the Rueful Countenance, if you have ever heard him named, whose valiant achievements and mighty deeds shall be written on lasting brass and imperishable marble, notwithstanding all the efforts of envy to obscure them and malice to hide them.†
Chpt 1.47-48
- "Who?" replied Don Quixote; "who could it be but some malignant enchanter of the many that persecute me out of envy—that accursed race born into the world to obscure and bring to naught the achievements of the good, and glorify and exalt the deeds of the wicked?†
Chpt 2.31-32
- Turning to Don Quixote, the duke said, "After all, renowned knight, the mists of malice and ignorance are unable to hide or obscure the light of valour and virtue.†
Chpt 2.35-36
Definitions:
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(1)
(obscure as in: it obscured my view) to block from view or make less visible or understandableAlthough this meaning of obscure typically refers to seeing or understanding, it can also refer to situation where something makes something else harder to detect or as when a noise makes another noise difficult to hear. Similarly it can reference something overshadowing something else, as in "Her memory of her dog's death was obscured by her brother's death the next day."
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(2)
(obscure as in: the view or directions are obscure) not clearly seen, understood, or expressedAlthough this meaning of obscure typically refers to seeing or understanding, it can refer to difficulty with any type of detection as when something is hard to hear. It can also more specifically mean vague, or mysterious, or unknown by anyone. Much more rarely, it can mean secretive.
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(3)
(obscure as in: the famous and the obscure) not known to many people; or unimportant or undistinguishedMore rarely, this meaning of obscure can be used for:
- seemingly unimportant -- as in "I want her on the team. She always seems to ask obscure questions that reveal problems in a different light."
- humble (typically only found in classic literature) -- as in "Nobody at the table would have guessed of her obscure family background."
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(4)
(obscure as in: was obscure, but now bright) dark or dingy; or inconspicuous (not very noticeable)This meaning of obscure is more commonly seen in classic literature than in modern writing.
- (5) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)