Dictionary
obscurantism
noun ob·scu·ran·tism \äb-ˈskyu̇r-ən-ˌti-zəm, əb-; ˌäb-skyu̇-ˈran-\
: the practice of keeping knowledge or understanding about something from people : the policy of not letting people know something
Full Definition of OBSCURANTISM
1
: opposition to the spread of knowledge : a policy of withholding knowledge from the general public
2
a : a style (as in literature or art) characterized by deliberate vagueness or abstruseness b : an act or instance of obscurantism
— ob·scu·ran·tist \-ən-tist, -ˈran-tist\ noun or adjective
See obscurantism defined for English-language learners
First Known Use of OBSCURANTISM
1834
Rhymes with OBSCURANTISM
absenteeism, absolutism, abstractionism, adventurism, aestheticism, Afrocentrism, agnosticism, alcoholism, amateurism, anabaptism, anachronism, Anglicanism, animalism, antagonism, Arianism, astigmatism, athleticism, automatism, behaviorism, Big Brotherism, bilingualism, Bonapartism, cannibalism, capitalism, Cartesianism, Catholicism, charlatanism, collectivism, commercialism, communalism, Confucianism, conservatism, constructivism, consumerism, corporatism, creationism, determinism, do-nothingism, eclecticism, ecotourism, ecumenism, egocentrism, empiricism, epicurism, eroticism, essentialism, ethnocentrism, evangelism, exoticism, expansionism, expressionism, Fabianism, factionalism, fanaticism, favoritism, federalism, Fenianism, feuilletonism, Fourierism, fraternalism, Freudianism, funambulism, functionalism, hermeticism, Hispanicism, historicism, hooliganism, illiberalism, illusionism, impressionism, infantilism, inflationism, initialism, insularism, irredentism, Jacobinism, Keynesianism, know-nothingism, lesbianism, liberalism, libertinism, literalism, Lutheranism, Lysenkoism, magic realism, malapropism, mercantilism, messianism, metabolism, metamorphism, militarism, minimalism, monasticism, monotheism, mutualism, naturalism, Naziritism, negativism, neologism, neo-Nazism, neorealism, nominalism, nonconformism, objectivism, obstructionism, opportunism, pacificism, parallelism, pastoralism, paternalism, patriotism, Peeping Tomism, perfectionism, photo-realism, plebeianism, polytheism, positivism, postmodernism, primitivism, progressivism, protectionism, Protestantism, provincialism, puritanism, radicalism, rationalism, recidivism, reductionism, regionalism, relativism, revisionism, revivalism, ritualism, romanticism, salvationism, sansculottism, scholasticism, sectionalism, secularism, separatism, serialism, Slavophilism, somnambulism, Stakhanovism, structuralism, subjectivism, teetotalism, theocentrism, triumphalism, Uncle Tomism, ventriloquism, vigilantism, workaholism
Learn More About OBSCURANTISM
Browse
Next Word in the Dictionary: obscurativePrevious Word in the Dictionary: obscurantAll Words Near: obscurantism
Seen & Heard
What made you want to look up obscurantism? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).