Standard Lemma guide

recondite

adj · noun · verb · 11 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈɹɛk(ə)nˌdaɪt/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ɹɪˈkɒndaɪt/
  • UK: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˈɹɛkənˌdaɪt/
  • General-American: /ɹəˈkɑnˌdaɪt/
  • General-American: /ɹiˈkɑnˌdaɪt/
  • CMU ARPABET: R EH1 K AH0 N D AY2 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Difficult, obscure.

Difficult to grasp or understand; abstruse, profound.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • a recondite tractate on alchemy

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Difficult, obscure.

Little known; esoteric, secret.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Difficult, obscure.

Having mastery over one's field, including its esoteric minutiae; learned.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adj

Meaning 4

Difficult, obscure.

Deliberately employing abstruse or esoteric allusions or references; intentionally obscure.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adj

Meaning 5

Hidden or removed from view.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

adj

Meaning 6

Hidden or removed from view.

Difficult to see, especially because it is hidden by another structure.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, obsolete, rare

Topics: biology, botany, entomology, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

adj

Meaning 7

Hidden or removed from view.

Avoiding notice (particularly human notice); having a tendency to hide; shy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic, rare

Topics: biology, natural-sciences, zoology

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: retiring

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

A recondite (hidden or obscure) person or thing.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: rare

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

A scholar or other person who is recondite, that is, who has mastery over his or her field, including its esoteric minutiae.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: rare

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

10

verb

Meaning 10

To conceal, cover up, hide.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete, rare, transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

11

adjective satellite

Meaning 11

difficult to penetrate; incomprehensible to one of ordinary understanding or knowledge

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the professor's lectures were so abstruse that students tended to avoid them
  • a deep metaphysical theory
  • some recondite problem in historiography

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: abstruse, deep

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: неясен (nejasen) — difficult to grasp or understand — see also abstruse, profound
  • Bulgarian: отвлечен (otvlečen) — difficult to grasp or understand — see also abstruse, profound
  • Catalan: recòndit — difficult to grasp or understand — see also abstruse, profound
  • Chinese Mandarin: 深奧的 /深奥的 (shēn'ào de) — difficult to grasp or understand — see also abstruse, profound
  • Dutch: obscuur — difficult to grasp or understand — see also abstruse, profound
  • Dutch: duister — difficult to grasp or understand — see also abstruse, profound
  • Dutch: verborgen — difficult to grasp or understand — see also abstruse, profound
  • Finnish: vaikeatajuinen — difficult to grasp or understand — see also abstruse, profound
  • Finnish: monimutkainen — difficult to grasp or understand — see also abstruse, profound
  • French: reculé — difficult to grasp or understand — see also abstruse, profound
  • French: retiré — difficult to grasp or understand — see also abstruse, profound
  • French: caché — difficult to grasp or understand — see also abstruse, profound
  • Italian: recondito — difficult to grasp or understand — see also abstruse, profound
  • Japanese: 幽玄な (yuugen na) — difficult to grasp or understand — see also abstruse, profound
  • Japanese: 奥深い (okufukai) — difficult to grasp or understand — see also abstruse, profound
  • Māori: waowao — difficult to grasp or understand — see also abstruse, profound
  • Norwegian: dunkel — difficult to grasp or understand — see also abstruse, profound
  • Russian: замыслова́тый (zamyslovátyj) — difficult to grasp or understand — see also abstruse, profound
  • Russian: мудрёный (mudrjónyj) — difficult to grasp or understand — see also abstruse, profound
  • Spanish: recóndito — difficult to grasp or understand — see also abstruse, profound