recondite

adjective

re·con·dite ˈre-kən-ˌdīt How to pronounce recondite (audio)

ri-ˈkän-

: difficult or impossible for one of ordinary understanding or knowledge to comprehend : deep

a recondite subject

: of, relating to, or dealing with something little known or obscure

recondite fact about the origin of the holiday

Floyd Dell

: hidden from sight : concealed

reconditely adverb

reconditeness noun

Did you know?

While the adjective recondite may be used to describe something difficult to understand, there is nothing recondite about the word's history. It dates to the early 1600s, when it was coined from the synonymous Latin word reconditus. Recondite is one of those underused but useful words that's always a boon to one's vocabulary, but take off the re- and you get something very obscure: condite is an obsolete verb meaning both "to pickle or preserve" and "to embalm." If we add the prefix in- to condite we get incondite, which means "badly put together," as in "incondite prose." All three words have Latin condere at their root; that verb is translated variously as "to put or bring together," "to put up, store," and "to conceal."

Example Sentences

geochemistry is a recondite subject

Recent Examples on the Web Film Noir began in 2005 as a walk-in closet of recondite DVDs angled into a Brooklyn commercial drag.

New York Times, 21 July 2022 Led by Ara Guzelimian with a steady hand, the festival is Southern California relaxed — T-shirts and shorts, maybe a hoodie at night — but the repertory tends rigorous and recondite.

New York Times, 14 June 2022 By all accounts, Mr. Wilson was erudite about the recondite, a prolific author of some 60 books on topics ranging from angels to pirate utopias and all manner of renegade religions.

New York Times, 11 June 2022 Jenkins uses abstruse concepts about personal growth, esoteric philosophy, and recondite musings to separate competition from sport.

Jenna Stocker, National Review, 24 Mar. 2022 Whole dissertations could be — and in all likelihood have been — written on the recondite vocabulary that surrounds Jewish bagelry.

New York Times, 17 Dec. 2021 Muldoon’s own work is witty, full of wordplay, often recondite.

Charles Finch, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2021 For students drowning in recondite texts about feminism, media and Marxism, Kruger’s work cut through the theoretical verbiage with razor-sharp epigrams.

Washington Post, 4 Oct. 2021 Many seem like remnants from a circa-2000 vogue for recondite, inscrutable maps and diagrams, produced by artists like Matthew Ritchie, Mark Lombardi and Franz Ackermann.

Jason Farago, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2021 See More

单词	reconditeness
释义	recondite adjective re·con·dite ˈre-kən-ˌdīt ri-ˈkän- 1 : difficult or impossible for one of ordinary understanding or knowledge to comprehend : deep a recondite subject 2 : of, relating to, or dealing with something little known or obscure recondite fact about the origin of the holiday Floyd Dell 3 : hidden from sight : concealed reconditely adverb reconditeness noun Did you know? While the adjective recondite may be used to describe something difficult to understand, there is nothing recondite about the word's history. It dates to the early 1600s, when it was coined from the synonymous Latin word reconditus. Recondite is one of those underused but useful words that's always a boon to one's vocabulary, but take off the re- and you get something very obscure: condite is an obsolete verb meaning both "to pickle or preserve" and "to embalm." If we add the prefix in- to condite we get incondite, which means "badly put together," as in "incondite prose." All three words have Latin condere at their root; that verb is translated variously as "to put or bring together," "to put up, store," and "to conceal." Synonyms abstruse arcane deep esoteric hermetic hermetical profound See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences geochemistry is a recondite subject Recent Examples on the Web Film Noir began in 2005 as a walk-in closet of recondite DVDs angled into a Brooklyn commercial drag. New York Times, 21 July 2022 Led by Ara Guzelimian with a steady hand, the festival is Southern California relaxed — T-shirts and shorts, maybe a hoodie at night — but the repertory tends rigorous and recondite. New York Times, 14 June 2022 By all accounts, Mr. Wilson was erudite about the recondite, a prolific author of some 60 books on topics ranging from angels to pirate utopias and all manner of renegade religions. New York Times, 11 June 2022 Jenkins uses abstruse concepts about personal growth, esoteric philosophy, and recondite musings to separate competition from sport. Jenna Stocker, National Review, 24 Mar. 2022 Whole dissertations could be — and in all likelihood have been — written on the recondite vocabulary that surrounds Jewish bagelry. New York Times, 17 Dec. 2021 Muldoon’s own work is witty, full of wordplay, often recondite. Charles Finch, Los Angeles Times, 22 Dec. 2021 For students drowning in recondite texts about feminism, media and Marxism, Kruger’s work cut through the theoretical verbiage with razor-sharp epigrams. Washington Post, 4 Oct. 2021 Many seem like remnants from a circa-2000 vogue for recondite, inscrutable maps and diagrams, produced by artists like Matthew Ritchie, Mark Lombardi and Franz Ackermann. Jason Farago, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2021 See More Word History Etymology Latin reconditus, past participle of recondere to conceal, from re- + condere to store up, from com- + -dere to put — more at com-, do First Known Use 1619, in the meaning defined at sense 2 reconditeness noun as in mystery Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance mystery equivocalness inscrutableness ambiguity opacity ambiguousness uncertainty obliqueness haziness indefiniteness incomprehensibleness opaqueness nebulousness faintness inscrutability murkiness vagueness cloudiness dimness nebulosity obliquity darkness fuzziness impenetrability mysteriousness mistiness indistinctness obscurity fogginess equivocation incomprehensibility shade circuity indirectness abstrusity abstruseness complexity shadow circuitousness obtuseness profoundness complication deepness depth difficulty Antonyms & Near Antonyms clarity brightness clearness legibility intelligibility obviousness plainness certainty distinctness comprehensibility incision surety lucidity definiteness exactness perspicuity visibility incisiveness perspicuousness directness readableness openness forthrightness explicitness readability straightforwardness lucidness tangibleness tangibility self-evidence palpability obviousness See More
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recondite

adjective

Did you know?

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

noun