All 5 Uses of
obscure
in
The War of the Worlds
- Dense clouds of smoke or dust ... spread through the clearness of the planet's atmosphere and obscured its more familiar features.
Chpt 1.1 (definition 1) *obscured = made less visible
- In the obscurity I could see he made a gesture of despair.
Chpt 1.11 (definition 2) *obscurity = darkness
- Already I had had a transient impression of these, and the first nausea no longer obscured my observation.
Chpt 2.2 (definition 1)obscured = hid or made less visible or understandable
- On the fourteenth day I went into the kitchen, and I was surprised to find that the fronds of the red weed had grown right across the hole in the wall, turning the half-light of the place into a crimson-coloured obscurity.
Chpt 2.5 (definition 2)obscurity = the quality of being dark, dingy, or inconspicuous
- For a long while I lay close to the peephole, but not daring to move aside the red plants that obscured it.
Chpt 2.5 (definition 1)obscured = hid or made less visible or understandable
Definitions:
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(1) (obscure as in: it obscured my view) to block from view or make less visible or understandableeditor's notes: 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."
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(2) (obscure as in: was obscure, but now bright) dark or dingy; or inconspicuous (not very noticeable)editor's notes: This meaning of obscure is more commonly seen in classic literature than in modern writing.