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Shield vs Obscure - What's the difference?

shield | obscure |

As verbs the difference between shield and obscure

is that shield is to protect, to defend while obscure is (label) to render obscure; to darken; to make dim; to keep in the dark; to hide; to make less visible, intelligible, legible, glorious, beautiful, or illustrious.

As a noun shield

is anything that protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection.

As an adjective obscure is

dark, faint or indistinct.

shield

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) shelde, from (etyl) .

Noun

(en noun)
  • Anything that protects or defends; defense; shelter; protection.
  • # A broad piece of defensive armor, carried on the arm, formerly in general use in war, for the protection of the body.
  • #*
  • #*
  • #*
  • #*
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=8 , passage=My client welcomed the judge […] and they disappeared together into the Ethiopian card-room, which was filled with the assegais and exclamation point shields Mr. Cooke had had made at the sawmill at Beaverton.}}
  • # Figuratively, one who protects or defends.
  • #*
  • # (lichenology) In lichens, a hardened cup or disk surrounded by a rim and containing the fructification, or asci.
  • # (mining) A framework used to protect workmen in making an adit under ground, and capable of being pushed along as excavation progresses.
  • # (science fiction) A field of energy that protects or defends.
  • Something shaped like a shield, usually an inverted triangle with slightly curved lower sides.
  • # (heraldry) The escutcheon or field on which are placed the bearings in coats of arms.
  • # A spot resembling, or having the form of a shield.
  • #*
  • # (obsolete) A coin, the old French crown, or , having on one side the figure of a shield.
  • # (label) A sign or symbol, usually containing numbers and sometimes letters, identifying a highway route.
  • # (colloquial, law enforcement) A police badge.
  • #*
  • (geology) A large expanse of exposed stable Precambrian rock.
  • # (geology) A wide and relatively low-profiled volcano, usually composed entirely of lava flows.
    • Hyponyms
    * * * * (hyp-mid3) * * * * (hyp-mid3) * * (hyp-bottom)

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) scieldan.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To protect, to defend.
  • *
  • (electricity) to protect from the influence of

    • Anagrams

    *

    obscure

    English

    Adjective

    (en-adj)
  • Dark, faint or indistinct.
  • * (Dante Alighieri), , 1, 1-2
    • I found myself in an obscure wood.
  • * Bible, Proverbs xx. 20
    • His lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.
  • Hidden, out of sight or inconspicuous.
  • * (William Shakespeare)
    • The obscure bird / Clamoured the livelong night.
  • * Sir J. Davies
    • the obscure corners of the earth
  • Difficult to understand.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-03, volume=408, issue=8847, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= The machine of a new soul , passage=The yawning gap in neuroscientists’ understanding of their topic is in the intermediate scale of the brain’s anatomy. Science has a passable knowledge of how individual nerve cells, known as neurons, work. It also knows which visible lobes and ganglia of the brain do what. But how the neurons are organised in these lobes and ganglia remains obscure .}}

    Usage notes

    * The comparative obscurer and superlative obscurest, though formed by valid rules for English, are less common than more obscure' and ' most obscure .

    Synonyms

    * enigmatic * mysterious * esoteric

    Antonyms

    * clear

    Derived terms

    * obscurable * unobscurable

    Related terms

    * obscurity * obscuration

    Verb

    (obscur)
  • (label) To render obscure; to darken; to make dim; to keep in the dark; to hide; to make less visible, intelligible, legible, glorious, beautiful, or illustrious.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
    • They are all couched in a pit hard by Herne's oak, with obscured lights.
  • * (William Wake) (1657-1737)
    • There is scarce any duty which has been so obscured by the writings of learned men as this.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1959, author=(Georgette Heyer), title=(The Unknown Ajax), chapter=1
    • , passage=But Richmond
  • (label) To hide, put out of sight etc.
  • * (Bill Watterson), Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat , page 62
    • I realized that the purpose of writing is to inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning, and inhibit clarity.
  • To conceal oneself; to hide.
  • * (Beaumont and Fletcher) (1603-1625)
    • How! There's bad news. / I must obscure , and hear it.

    External links

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