Abstruse

English

Adjective

Abstruse (comparative abstruser or more Abstruse, superlative abstrusest or most Abstruse)

1. remote from apprehension; difficult to comprehend or understand; recondite; as in abstruse learning.
2. (obsolete) concealed or hidden out of the way.

Adverbs for Abstruse

disagreeably; unfortunately; vexatiously; remotely; obscurely; profoundly; extremely; unreasonably; unnecessarily; needlessly; foolishly; absurdly; foggily; senselessly; stupidly; inexpediently; enigmatically; annoyingly; heavily; injudiciously; incomprehensibly; highly; unwisely; preposterously; confusingly; bewilderingly; perplexingly; indiscreetly.

Synonyms for Abstruse

profound, abstract, difficult, subtle, recondite, esoteric.

Antonyms for Abstruse

plain, obvious, clear, open.

Thesaurus

Herculean; abstract; arcane; arduous; beclouded; blind; brutal; buried; civilized; close; clouded; complex; complicated; concealed; covered; covert; critical; cultivated; cultured; deep; delicate; demanding; difficile; difficult; eclipsed; educated; encyclopedic; erudite; esoteric; exacting; formidable; hairy; hard; hard-earned; hard-fought; heavy; hermetic; hid; hidden; hypothetical; ideal; in a cloud; in a fog; in eclipse; in purdah; in the wings; incommunicado; intricate; jawbreaking; knotted; knotty; laborious; latent; learned; lettered; literate; mean; mysterious; no picnic; not easy; obfuscated; obscure; obscured; occult; operose; pansophic; polyhistoric; polymath; polymathic; profound; recondite; rigorous; rough; rugged; scholarly; scholastic; secluded; secluse; secret; sequestered; set with thorns; severe; spiny; steep; strenuous; studious; thorny; ticklish; toilsome; tough; transcendental; tricky; under an eclipse; under cover; under house arrest; under wraps; underground; unknown; uphill; wicked; wise; wrapped in clouds

Etymology

From Latin abstrūsus (“hidden, concealed”), the perfect passive participle of abstrūdō (“thrust away, conceal”); itself from ab, abs (“away”) + trūdō (“thrust, push”); cognate with French abstrus and German abstrus.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA: /æbˈstruːs/, /əbˈstruːs/

Derived terms

• abstrusely
• abstruseness

Related terms

• abstrude
• abstrusion

Translations

difficult to comprehend

Bulgarian: неясен (bg), труден за разбиране (bg) Dutch: onbevattelijk, ondoorgrondelijk Finnish: vaikeaselkoinen (fi)

Italian: astruso (it) Portuguese: abstruso (pt) m. Spanish: abstruso (es) m.

concealed

Bulgarian: скрит (bg)

Dutch: verborgen (nl), versluierd German: abstrus, unfaßbar

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French

Adjective

Abstruse

1. feminine inflection of abstrus

Anagrams

• arbustes

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Latin

Participle

abstrūse

1. vocative masculine singular of abstrūsus