Obscurer

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. An individual or thing that creates confusion or prevents clarity in communication or understanding
2. Becoming less clear or harder to understand, making meaning or details more hidden
3. Characterized by increased vagueness or complexity that limits easy comprehension

Etymology: Latin "obscurus" meant dark, dim, or hidden from sight. English took "obscure" from Old French in the 14th century, and it carried that physical sense into talk about meaning, so that a thing could be obscure in the way it was expressed as well as in how it looked. The ending "-er" has two possible jobs here. Added to an adjective, it forms a comparative, so "obscurer" can mean "more obscure." Added to a verb, it forms an agent noun, a person or thing that does the action, so the same form can mean something that obscures. That second use has deep roots: the ending descends from Old English "-ere," which came from Latin "-arius" through Old French "-ier." It is the same suffix that turns "write" into "writer."

Synonyms: dimmer, blurrer

Antonyms: clearer, brighter