arcane

CEFRC2

/ɑɹˈkeɪn/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Known or understood by very few people.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Obscure, mysterious.

Examples

  • Nowadays, the fourteenth century's debate about the Eucharist sounds completely arcane.

  • The professor’s lecture was full of arcane references.

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Requiring secret or mysterious knowledge to understand.

  2. Understood by only a few.

  3. Extremely old (e.g. interpretation or knowledge), and possibly irrelevant.

More examples

In context

  • We uncovered this arcane.

  • arcane knowledge

  • arcane rituals

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The ancient text contained blank rituals known only to a few scholars.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

Borrowed from Latin arcānus (“hidden, secret”), from arceō (“to shut up, enclose”); cognate with Latin arca (“a chest”).