Definition of ABSTRUSE

abstruse

Meanings

Adjective Satellite

  • difficult to penetrate; incomprehensible to one of ordinary understanding or knowledge
    • "the professor's lectures were so abstruse that students tended to avoid them"

Adj

  • Difficult to comprehend or understand; obscure.
  • Concealed or hidden; secret.

Origin / Etymology

PIE word
*h₂epó
Learned borrowing from Latin abstrūsus (“concealed, hidden; having been concealed”), an adjective use of the perfect passive participle of abstrūdō (“to conceal, hide; to push or thrust away”), from abs- (from ab- (prefix meaning ‘away; from; away from’)) + trūdō (“to push, shove; to thrust”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *trewd- (“to push; to thrust”)).
Cognates
* Catalan abstrús
* German abstrus (“abstruse”)
* Italian astruso (“abstruse”)
* Middle French abstruse (modern French abstrus, abstruse (“(derogatory, literary) abstruse”)
* Portuguese abstruso (“abstruse”)
* Spanish abstruso (“abstruse”)

Scrabble Score: 10

abstruse is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
abstruse is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
abstruse is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 12

abstruse is a valid Words With Friends word