From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishobscurityob‧scu‧ri‧ty /əbˈskjʊərəti $ -ˈskjʊr-/ noun (plural obscurities) 1 [uncountable]NOT KNOWFAMOUS the state of not being known or rememberedfade/slide/sink etc into obscurity The group produced two albums before disappearing into obscurity.live/work/remain etc in obscurity O'Brien died in obscurity.from obscurity to something She rose from obscurity to stardom.2 [countable, uncountable]UNDERSTAND something that is difficult to understand, or the quality of being difficult to understand obscurities in the textCOLLOCATIONSverbsfade into obscurity (=to gradually be forgotten after being well-known)The band faded into obscurity as the 1980s progressed.slide/slip/sink into obscurity (=fade into obscurity)Many scientific theories are never proved and slip into obscurity.work/labour/toil in obscurity (=work without being well-known)After years of working in obscurity, his paintings are now hanging in museums.languish in obscurity (=to fail to become well-known or successful)Until recently her talent has languished in obscurity.rise/emerge from obscurity (=to become well-known after not being known at all)Harris received coaching and rose from obscurity to stardom.rescue somebody/something from obscurity (=to stop someone or something from being forgotten)He was rescued from obscurity by Alder's brilliant biography in 1985.be plucked from obscurity (=to take someone or something that is not known about and make them well-known)The actress has been plucked from obscurity to become the new Bond girl.be relegated/consigned to obscurity (=to be put in the position of being forgotten after being well-known )Inevitably, many good players are relegated to obscurity.adjectivesrelative/comparative obscurity (=not known about compared to other things that are better known)He brought the team from relative obscurity to fame.total obscurityThe competition has helped some aspiring writers to emerge from total obscurity.professional/political obscurity (=not known about in your profession or in politics)After his defeat, he sank into political obscurity.
Examples from the Corpus
obscurity• A pitiful exhalation, an obscurity, a memory.• That other story, likewise, traced the path from poverty to wealth and obscurity to fame.• Rarely has a term of public discourse gone so directly from obscurity to meaninglessness without any intervening period of coherence.• The lace curtains seemed to have survived from obscurity, like the antique gown of a jilted bride.• Arbuckle died in obscurity in 1933.• Then with the coming of the railways they slipped back into obscurity.• How could he change his life, which seemed irretrievably set on a course of obscurity?• She chose silence, obscurity, poverty.• In Washington, obscurity is never a measure of insignificance.from obscurity to something• Rarely has a term of public discourse gone so directly from obscurity to meaninglessness without any intervening period of coherence.• This page tracks the ups and downs of those stars whose careers have led them from obscurity to fame and back again. 