Added 5 October 2026
abstruse
/əbˈstɹuːs/ adjective
Latin root: abstrūsus Wiktionary
adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about abstruse at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Difficult to comprehend or understand; obscure. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
- Concealed or hidden; secret.
Origin
PIE word *h₂epó Learned borrowing from Latin abstrūsus (“concealed, hidden; having been concealed”), an adjective use of the perfect passive participle of abstrūdō (“to conceal, hide; to push or thrust away”), from abs- (from ab- (prefix meaning ‘away; from; away from’)) + trūdō (“to push, shove; to thrust”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *trewd- (“to push; to thrust”)). Cognates * Catalan abstrús * German abstrus (“abstruse”) * Italian astruso (“abstruse”) * Middle French abstruse (modern French abstrus, abstruse (“(derogatory, literary) abstruse”) * Portuguese abstruso (“abstruse”) * Spanish abstruso (“abstruse”)
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)