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Meaning of abstruse in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Classifying Adjective
    1. Definitions
  1. Pronunciation

    /əbˈstrus/

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  1. Classifying Adjective

    abstruse

    Definitions

    1. difficult to penetrate

    Examples

    • « incomprehensible to one of ordinary understanding or knowledge »
    • « the professor's lectures were so abstruse that students tended to avoid them »
    • « a deep metaphysical theory »
    • « some recondite problem in historiography »

    Synonyms

    • esoteric

Famous quotes

  • « My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation. »
    Arthur Conan Doyle

Browse dictionary

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