Definition of Arcane in Visual dictionary with synonyms, antonyms and illustrations used in authentic context and examples for advanced learners of English
/ɑːˈkeɪn/ US /ɑːr-/ (adj)
Definition
not known by many people, mysterious, difficult to understand, esoteric, clandestine, impenetrable, secret, obscure, covert, opaque, unfathomable, inscribable, recondite, abstruse
Example
In 1912, Polish-born antiquarian bookseller Wilfrid Michael Voynich bought 30 books from a college in Italy including a vellum codex dating from the 1400s that has since become known as the Voynich Manuscript.
The 240 pages of the manuscript are covered with 170,000 unusual and arcane symbols and glyphs. On virtually every page, there are illustrations of botanical specimens and astronomical drawings while the more unusual ones show miniatures.
Top US codebreaker William Friedman tried to crack the code but failed. In 2014, Professor Stephen Bax of the University of Bedfordshire made the first steps in solving the mystery by analysing medieval herbal texts and working out the possible meaning of a number of words and symbols.
Source of example: https://www.sciencefocus.com/
Antonyms
obvious, transparent
Parts of speech
Noun: arcaneness
Adverb: arcanely
