not clearly understood or expressed; "an obscure turn of phrase"; "an impulse to go off and fight certain obscure battles of his own spirit"-Anatole Broyard; "their descriptions of human behavior become vague, dull, and unclear"- P.A.Sorokin; "vague...forms of speech...have so long passed for mysteries of science"- John Locke
not drawing attention; "an unnoticeable cigarette burn on the carpet"; "an obscure flaw"
not famous or acclaimed; "an obscure family"; "unsung heroes of the war"
make obscure or unclear; "The distinction was obscured"
make difficult to perceive by sight; "The foliage of the huge tree obscures the view of the lake"
make undecipherable or imperceptible by obscuring or concealing; "a hidden message"; "a veiled threat"
make less visible or unclear; "The stars are obscured by the clouds"
protective covering that protects something from direct sunlight; "they used umbrellas as shades"; "as the sun moved he readjusted the shade"
a representation of the effect of shadows in a picture or drawing (as by shading or darker pigment)
a quality of a given color that differs slightly from a primary color; "after several trials he mixed the shade of pink that she wanted"
a position of relative inferiority; "an achievement that puts everything else in the shade"; "his brother's success left him in the shade"
relative darkness caused by light rays being intercepted by an opaque body; "it is much cooler in the shade"; "there's too much shadiness to take good photographs"
protect from light, heat, or view; "Shade your eyes when you step out into the bright sunlight"
characterized by hopelessness; filled with gloom; "gloomy at the thought of what he had to face"; "gloomy predictions"; "a gloomy silence"; "took a grim view of the economy"; "the darkening mood"