abstruse

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Mr. Barnes has long brought something exotic to English literature, but never anything so abstruse as to become alienating.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 16, 2026

That might sound like an abstruse philosophical argument, but he says it's a hot debate within the scientific community.

From Salon • Jun. 15, 2025

It’s not exactly secret, but it’s abstruse enough that they hope most people, who aren’t fully conversant with the complexities of the program, won’t get the drift.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2025

The particle is part of a concept called the Higgs mechanism that was added to the standard model in the 1970s to explain an abstruse but important puzzle.

From Science Magazine • Mar. 27, 2024

The outfit was acceptable by any theological and geometrical standards, however abstruse, and suggested a rich inner life.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole