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

The decades-old concept could explain many things, such as where WIMPs come from, but its main job is to solve a more abstruse problem.

From Science Magazine • Mar. 27, 2024

They looked almost comically abstruse, as if they might be used as paddles in the hazing rituals of a math fraternity.

From New York Times • Feb. 8, 2024

We appreciate the abstruse concept of equations breaking down through an example, division by zero, which we can understand for ourselves in either of two ways.

From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker