Arcane
Arcane adjective - Having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning.
Usage example: the rebate form uses arcane language, the only purpose of which seems to be to disqualify buyers from actually getting a rebate
Opaque
Opaque adjective - Having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning.
Usage example: somehow listeners seem to connect with the songwriter, despite his deeply personal, often opaque lyrics
Arcane is a synonym for opaque in obscure topic. You can use "Arcane" instead an adjective "Opaque", if it concerns topics such as hard to understand.
Nearby Words: opaqueness, opaquely
Mutual synonyms
Both words in one sentence
- Mathematics, and in particular calculus, is treated as arcane knowledge known only to the very smart or professional mathematicians, and opaque/useless to everyone else.
Source: Calculus Is Arcane Knowledge -
In City of Heroes, Dark Astoria is a zone covered in a frustratingly opaque mist, filled with arcane and supernatural enemies.
Source: Fog of Doom
Cite this Source
Opaque and Arcane. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/arcane/opaque
Arcane & Opaque. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/arcane/opaque>.
Opaque or Arcane. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/arcane/opaque.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "arcane" and "opaque" have occurred on timeline