Abstruse — Word of the Day August 17, 2026

Definition

Difficult to understand; obscure. Abstruse academic writing often confuses more than it illuminates.

“Even specialists found the philosopher's later work almost comically abstruse.”

From Latin abstrusus, past participle of abstrudere (to push away, hide), from ab- (away) + trudere (to push).

A₁B₃S₁T₁R₁U₁S₁E₁

ABSTRUSE scores 10 points in Scrabble.