1
Core quality
Difficult to understand because it is highly complex, specialized, or obscure.
Example
The article's abstruse terminology limits its audience.
abstruse
/əbˈstruːs/ · ab-STROOSSadjective
Difficult to understand because it is highly complex, specialized, or obscure.
Use abstruse to express this relationship precisely: difficult to understand because it is highly complex, specialized, or obscure.
What abstruse Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Attributive or predicative use
Use this adjective before a suitable noun or after a linking verb such as be or seem.
Example
Even specialists found the proof abstruse.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact descriptive quality matters; a related word may overlap without conveying the same trait.
Example
Clear examples make the abstruse theory easier to grasp.
Use abstruse Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The article's abstruse terminology limits its audience.
Even specialists found the proof abstruse.
Clear examples make the abstruse theory easier to grasp.
Precision Matters
Abstruse overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
abstruse
vs.Means difficult to understand because it is highly complex, specialized, or obscure.
obscure
Means not well known or difficult to understand.
abstruse
vs.Means difficult to understand because it is highly complex, specialized, or obscure.
esoteric
Means intended for or understood by only a small group with specialised knowledge.
abstruse
vs.Means difficult to understand because it is highly complex, specialized, or obscure.
lucid
Means clear, coherent, and easy to understand.
abstruse
vs.Means difficult to understand because it is highly complex, specialized, or obscure.
accessible
Means easy to reach, obtain, enter, use, or understand.
Test abstruse in Context
The argument is difficult to understand because of its complexity.
1
Without definitions or examples, the philosopher's ___ argument was nearly impossible for beginners to follow.