obnubilation
/ɒbnjuːbɪˈleɪʃən/
obnubilation means the action of darkening or fact of being darkened, as with a cloud; obscuration. It carries an Arena rating of 1400, earned across 5 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, obnubilation ranks #743 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #973 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #1,723 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #1,887 of 17,131 for Scariest Words.
obnubilation is pronounced /ɒbnjuːbɪˈleɪʃən/.
Why “obnubilation” is a great word
The act of covering as with a cloud, whether of the sky or of the mind. From the Late Latin obnūbilātiō, from obnūbilāre ('to cover with clouds'), from ob- ('over') + nūbilāre ('to be cloudy'), from nūbēs ('cloud'), first attested in English c. 1600. Unlike obscuration (a general darkening) or confusion (a disordered state), obnubilation is the specific imposition of a veil. It is the sudden dimming of a room when heavy curtains are drawn, the slow siltation of a once-clear pond, and the thickening haze over a fevered thought—consciousness still present, but unreachable, as if viewed through smoked glass.
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin obnūbilātiō. Compare brain fog as a similar metaphor. By surface analysis, obnubilate + -ion.
noun
- The action of darkening or fact of being darkened, as with a cloud; obscuration.
- Obscuration or clouding of the mind or faculties.
- A veiling with or concealment in clouds.
- Something that obscures or causes confoundment; an obfuscation.e.g.“1999, Balachandra Rajan, Under Western Eyes: India from Milton to Macaulay, Afterword, p. 206”
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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