Esoteric
Esoteric adjective - Difficult for one of ordinary knowledge or intelligence to understand.
Obscure
Obscure adjective - Having an often intentionally veiled or uncertain meaning.
Usage example: a fantasy writer who likes to put lots of obscure references and images in her tales of wizards and warlocks
Esoteric is a synonym for obscure in abstruse topic. You can use "Esoteric" instead an adjective "Obscure", if it concerns topics such as unclear, hidden, enigmatic, mystical.
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
Both words in one sentence
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It works because the standards for those products are esoteric or obscure: if you hear it repeated often enough, you'll assume it actually is a good thing because you don't know any better.
Source: Asbestos-Free Cereal - May be played for laughs if the questions are obscure and esoteric to the point of absurdity.
Source: "Jeopardy!" Intelligence Test -
For rappers that produce tracks as well, they often have to search for the most obscure and esoteric samples possible, from old soul records to cartoon themes.
Source: Comics Rule Everything Around Me
Cite this Source
Obscure and Esoteric. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 29, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/esoteric/obscure
Esoteric & Obscure. N.p., 2016. Web. 29 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/esoteric/obscure>.
Obscure or Esoteric. 2016. Accessed July 29, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/esoteric/obscure.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "esoteric" and "obscure" have occurred on timeline