v. reduce a vowel to a neutral one, such as a schwa

v. make unclear, indistinct, or blurred; "Her remarks confused the debate"; "Their words obnubilate their intentions"

v. make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing; "a hidden message"; "a veiled threat"

v. make less visible or unclear; "The stars are obscured by the clouds"; "the big elm tree obscures our view of the valley"

adj. difficult to find; "hidden valleys"; "a hidden cave"; "an obscure retreat"

adj. marked by difficulty of style or expression; "much that was dark is now quite clear to me"; "those who do not appreciate Kafka's work say his style is obscure"

adj. not drawing attention; "an unnoticeable cigarette burn on the carpet"; "an obscure flaw"

adj. not clearly understood or expressed; "an obscure turn of phrase"; "an impulse to go off and fight certain obscure battles of his own spirit"-Anatole Broyard; "their descriptions of human behavior become vague, dull, and unclear"- P.A.Sorokin; "vague...forms of speech...have so long passed for mysteries of science"- John Locke

adj. not famous or acclaimed; "an obscure family"; "unsung heroes of the war"

v. make milky or dull; "The chemical clouded the liquid to which it was added"

v. to obscure, or conceal with or as if with a veil; "women in Afghanistan veil their faces"

v. fill with anxiety, dread, dismay, or confusion; "After the terrorist attack, people look consternated"

v. alter the shape of (something) by stress; "His body was deformed by leprosy"

v. switch (a car's headlights) from a higher to a lower beam

v. be greater in significance than; "the tragedy overshadowed the couple's happiness"

v. make level or straight; "level the ground"

v. make a smudge on; soil by smudging

v. remove completely from recognition or memory; "efface the memory of the time in the camps"

v. move quickly in a straight line; "The plane streaked across the sky"

v. cause an eclipse of (a celestial body) by intervention; "The Sun eclipses the moon today"; "Planets and stars often are occulted by other celestial bodies"

v. cover with or as if with a cloak; "cloaked monks"

v. remove color from; "The sun bleached the red shirt"

v. disguise by camouflaging; exploit the natural surroundings to disguise something; "The troops camouflaged themselves before they went into enemy territory"

v. cover as if with a shroud; "The origins of this civilization are shrouded in mystery"

adj. not clear to the mind; "the law itself was unclear on that point"; "the reason for their actions is unclear to this day"

adj. indistinct or hazy in outline; "a landscape of blurred outlines"; "the trees were just blurry shapes"

adj. lacking in substance; "strange fancies of unreal and shadowy worlds"- W.A.Butler; "dim shadowy forms"; "a wraithlike column of smoke"

adj. resembling an oracle in obscurity of thought; "the oracular sayings of Victorian poets"; "so enigmatic that priests might have to clarify it"; "an enigmatic smile"

adj. lacking definite form or limits; "gropes among cloudy issues toward a feeble conclusion"- H.T.Moore; "nebulous distinction between pride and conceit"

adj. (of liquids) clouded as with sediment; "a cloudy liquid"; "muddy coffee"; "murky waters"

adj. not clearly understood or expressed; "an obscure turn of phrase"; "an impulse to go off and fight certain obscure battles of his own spirit"-Anatole Broyard; "their descriptions of human behavior become vague, dull, and unclear"- P.A.Sorokin; "vague...forms of speech...have so long passed for mysteries of science"- John Locke

adj. lacking definition or definite content; "nebulous reasons"; "unfixed as were her general notions of what men ought to be"- Jane Austen

adj. of an obscure nature; "the new insurance policy is written without cryptic or mysterious terms"; "a deep dark secret"; "the inscrutable workings of Providence"; "in its mysterious past it encompasses all the dim origins of life"- Rachel Carson; "rituals totally mystifying to visitors from other lands"

adj. making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe; "a baffling problem"; "I faced the knotty problem of what to have for breakfast"; "a problematic situation at home"

adj. difficult to penetrate; incomprehensible to one of ordinary understanding or knowledge; "the professor's lectures were so abstruse that students tended to avoid them"; "a deep metaphysical theory"; "some recondite problem in historiography"

adj. hidden and difficult to see; "an occult fracture"; "occult blood in the stool"

adj. not clear and resonant; sounding as if striking with or against something relatively soft; "the dull thud"; "thudding bullets"

adj. having lost freshness or brilliance of color; "sun-bleached deck chairs"; "faded jeans"; "a very pale washed-out blue"; "washy colors"

adj. not clearly defined or easy to perceive or understand; "indistinct shapes in the gloom"; "an indistinct memory"; "only indistinct notions of what to do"

adj. (of handwriting, print, etc.) not legible; "illegible handwriting"

adj. lacking clarity of meaning; causing confusion or perplexity; "sent confusing signals to Iraq"; "perplexing to someone who knew nothing about it"; "a puzzling statement"

adj. uncertain as a sign or indication; "the evidence from bacteriologic analysis was equivocal"

adj. not leading to a definite ending or result; "an indeterminate campaign"

adj. lacking definite form or limits; "gropes among cloudy issues toward a feeble conclusion"- H.T.Moore; "nebulous distinction between pride and conceit"

adj. vague or not clearly defined or stated; "must you be so indefinite?"; "amorphous blots of color having vague and indefinite edges"; "he would not answer so indefinite a proposal"

adj. not clearly defined or easy to perceive or understand; "indistinct shapes in the gloom"; "an indistinct memory"; "only indistinct notions of what to do"

adj. lacking definition or definite content; "nebulous reasons"; "unfixed as were her general notions of what men ought to be"- Jane Austen

adj. having no intrinsic or objective meaning; not organized in conventional patterns; "an ambiguous situation with no frame of reference"; "ambiguous inkblots"

adj. not transmitting or reflecting light or radiant energy; impenetrable to sight; "opaque windows of the jail"; "opaque to X-rays"

adj. indistinct or hazy in outline; "a landscape of blurred outlines"; "the trees were just blurry shapes"

adj. marked by difficulty of style or expression; "much that was dark is now quite clear to me"; "those who do not appreciate Kafka's work say his style is obscure"

adj. resembling an oracle in obscurity of thought; "the oracular sayings of Victorian poets"; "so enigmatic that priests might have to clarify it"; "an enigmatic smile"

adj. not clear and resonant; sounding as if striking with or against something relatively soft; "the dull thud"; "thudding bullets"

adj. having lost freshness or brilliance of color; "sun-bleached deck chairs"; "faded jeans"; "a very pale washed-out blue"; "washy colors"

adj. (of handwriting, print, etc.) not legible; "illegible handwriting"

adj. uncertain as a sign or indication; "the evidence from bacteriologic analysis was equivocal"

adj. somewhat indefinite; "bearing a general resemblance to the original"; "a general description of the merchandise"

adj. ambiguous (especially in the negative); "she spoke in no uncertain terms"

adj. implied by or inferred from actions or statements; "gave silent consent"; "a tacit agreement"; "the understood provisos of a custody agreement"

adj. not literal; "a loose interpretation of what she had been told"; "a free translation of the poem"

adj. lacking distinct or individual characteristics; dull and uninteresting; "women dressed in nondescript clothes"; "a nondescript novel"

adj. not known or well known; "a name unfamiliar to most"; "be alert at night especially in unfamiliar surroundings"

adj. not noticed inadvertently; "her aching muscles forgotten she danced all night"; "he was scolded for his forgotten chores"

adj. covered from view: "her face buried (or hidden) in her hands"; "buried in the smoke of many rifles"

adj. with shutters closed

adj. "a closet alcoholic"

adj. marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed; "a furtive manner"; "a sneak attack"; "stealthy footsteps"; "a surreptitious glance at his watch"

adj. lying in wait as in ambush: "a lurking prowler"; "the lurking menaces of the future"

adj. undisclosed for the time being; "sealed orders"; "a sealed move in chess"

adj. not open or public; kept private or not revealed; "a secret formula"; "secret ingredients"; "secret talks"

adj. not openly expressed; "a sneaking suspicion"

adj. kept secret; "the plan was kept carefully under wraps"

adj. not clear to the understanding; "I didn't grasp the meaning of that enigmatic comment until much later"; "prophetic texts so enigmatic that their meaning has been disputed for centuries"

adj. skillful at eluding capture; "a cabal of conspirators, each more elusive than the archterrorist"- David Kline

adj. impossible to understand; "impenetrable jargon"

adj. impossible to determine the meaning of; "an indecipherable message"

adj. not clearly understood or expressed

adj. lacking clarity of meaning; causing confusion or perplexity; "sent confusing signals to Iraq"; "perplexing to someone who knew nothing about it"; "a puzzling statement"

adj. causing bafflement; "the play was at the same time a bewildering and an exciting experience"

adj. having the reason or cause not made clear; "an unexplained error"

v. rid of obstructions; "Clear your desk"

v. make free from confusion or ambiguity; make clear; "Could you clarify these remarks?"; "Clear up the question of who is at fault"

v. put into a proper or systematic order; "arrange the books on the shelves in chronological order"

v. make clear and (more) comprehensible; "clarify the mystery surrounding her death"

adj. known for certain; "it is definite that they have won"

adj. obvious to the eye or mind; "a tower conspicuous at a great distance"; "wore conspicuous neckties"; "made herself conspicuous by her exhibitionistic preening"

adj. accurately stated or described; "a set of well-defined values"

adj. sharply exact or accurate or delimited; "a precise mind"; "specified a precise amount"; "arrived at the precise moment"

adj. transmitting light; able to be seen through with clarity; "the cold crystalline water of melted snow"; "crystal clear skies"; "could see the sand on the bottom of the limpid pool"; "lucid air"; "a pellucid brook"; "transparent crystal"

adj. clearly evident to the mind; "his opposition to slavery was unmistakable"

adj. having the clarity and freshness of immediate experience; "a vivid recollection"

adj. widely known and esteemed; "a famous actor"; "a celebrated musician"; "a famed scientist"; "an illustrious judge"; "a notable historian"; "a renowned painter"

adj. well known or easily recognized; "a familiar figure"; "familiar songs"; "familiar guests"

adj. not usual or common or ordinary; "a scene of unusual beauty"; "a man of unusual ability"; "cruel and unusual punishment"; "an unusual meteorite"

adj. having a good reputation; "a reputable business"; "a reputable scientist"; "a reputable wine"