obscure

in

The Merchant of Venice

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."

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.

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."

dark or dingy; or inconspicuous (not very noticeable)

This meaning of obscure is more commonly seen in classic literature than in modern writing.