Arcane
Arcane adjective - Difficult for one of ordinary knowledge or intelligence to understand.
Usage example: grammatical rules that seem arcane to generations of students who were never taught grammar in the first place
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
- In David Brin's Uplift series practically all alien races consider any human mathematics more complex than arithmetic to be "arcane wolfling superstitions", even the Tymbrimi-created AI on the Streaker says so.
Source: Calculus Is Arcane Knowledge -
But she's "a loon with a god complex"—once she gains the arcane power to enforce her mad whims, she brings entire universes to ruin.
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The sport of Cricket is often seen as this by those who don't have a history of playing it, due to its complex ruleset and arcane terminology.
Source: Calvinball
Cite this Source
Complex and Arcane. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 14, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/arcane/complex
Arcane & Complex. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/arcane/complex>.
Complex or Arcane. 2016. Accessed August 14, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/arcane/complex.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "arcane" and "complex" have occurred on timeline