All 12 Uses

obscure
in
A Tale of Two Cities
(Edited)

The mildewy inside of the coach, with its damp and dirty straw, its disagreeable smell, and its obscurity, was rather like a larger dog-kennel.
Chpt 1.4 *

obscurity = darkness (making it hard to see)
The obscurity was so difficult to penetrate that Mr. Lorry, picking his way over the well-worn Turkey carpet, supposed Miss Manette to be, for the moment, in some adjacent room, until, having got past the two tall candles, he saw standing to receive him by the table between them and the fire, a young lady of not more than seventeen, in a riding-cloak, and still holding her straw travellinghat by its ribbon in her hand.
Chpt 1.4

obscurity = the quality of being dark, dingy, or inconspicuous
Such a scanty portion of light was admitted through these means, that it was difficult, on first coming in, to see anything; and long habit alone could have slowly formed in any one, the ability to do any work requiring nicety in such obscurity.
Chpt 1.5
Young women have committed similar follies often before, and have repented them in poverty and obscurity often before.
Chpt 2.12

obscurity = less commonly known
Besides the glancing tears that shone among the smiles of the little group when it was done, some diamonds, very bright and sparkling, glanced on the bride's hand, which were newly released from the dark obscurity of one of Mr. Lorry's pockets.
Chpt 2.18

obscurity = the quality of being dark, dingy, or inconspicuous
When great masses of stone and timber fell, the face with the two dints in the nose became obscured: anon struggled out of the smoke again, as if it were the face of the cruel Marquis, burning at the stake and contending with the fire.
Chpt 2.23

obscured = hid or made less visible or understandable
Troubled as the future was, it was the unknown future, and in its obscurity there was ignorant hope.
Chpt 3.1 *

obscurity = the condition of being unseen or unknown
The court was all astir and a-buzz, when the black sheep—whom many fell away from in dread—pressed him into an obscure corner among the crowd.
Chpt 3.9

obscure = dark, dingy, or inconspicuous
The speaker seemed to acknowledge that it was inconvenient to have that different order of creature dying there, and that it would have been better if he had died in the usual obscure routine of his vermin kind.
Chpt 3.10

obscure = not clearly seen, understood, or expressed
Then, issuing from the obscure corner from which he had never moved, Sydney Carton came and took her up.
Chpt 3.11

obscure = dark, dingy, or inconspicuous
From the farmer-general of seventy, whose riches could not buy his life, to the seamstress of twenty, whose poverty and obscurity could not save her.
Chpt 3.13 *

obscurity = the condition of not being famous or distinguished
Haunted by her feverish apprehensions, she could not bear to have her sight obscured for a minute at a time by the dripping water, but constantly paused and looked round to see that there was no one watching her.
Chpt 3.14 *

obscured = hidden or made less visible

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Grouped by 4 Meanings

Definitions:

(1) (obscure as in: it obscured my view)
to block from view or make less visible or understandable

Although 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."
(2) (obscure as in: the view or directions are obscure)
not clearly seen, understood, or expressed

Although 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.
(3) (obscure as in: the famous and the obscure)
not known to many people; or unimportant or undistinguished
More 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."
(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)

obscure in A Tale of Two Cities (Edited)

obscure
in
A Tale of Two Cities
(Edited)