Definitions for obscurantist
ob·scu·ran·tist

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. obscurantistnoun

   a person who is deliberately vague

WiktionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. obscurantistnoun

   A practitioner of obscurantism; an obscurant

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. obscurantist

   In philosophy, the terms obscurantism and obscurationism describe the anti-intellectual practices of deliberately presenting information in an abstruse and imprecise manner that limits further inquiry and understanding of a subject. There are two historical and intellectual denotations of obscurantism: (1) the deliberate restriction of knowledge—opposition to the dissemination of knowledge; and (2) deliberate obscurity—a recondite style of writing characterized by deliberate vagueness.The term obscurantism derives from the title of the 16th-century satire Epistolæ Obscurorum Virorum (Letters of Obscure Men, 1515–1519), which was based upon the intellectual dispute between the German Catholic humanist Johann Reuchlin and the monk Johannes Pfefferkorn of the Dominican Order, about whether or not all Jewish books should be burned as un-Christian heresy. Earlier, in 1509, the monk Pfefferkorn had obtained permission from Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (1486–1519), to burn all copies of the Talmud (Jewish law and Jewish ethics) known to be in the Holy Roman Empire (AD 926–1806); the Letters of Obscure Men satirized the Dominican arguments for burning un-Christian works. In the 18th century, Enlightenment philosophers applied the term obscurantist to any enemy of intellectual enlightenment and the liberal diffusion of knowledge. In the 19th century, in distinguishing the varieties of obscurantism found in metaphysics and theology from the "more subtle" obscurantism of the critical philosophy of Immanuel Kant, and of modern philosophical skepticism, Friedrich Nietzsche said: "The essential element in the black art of obscurantism is not that it wants to darken individual understanding, but that it wants to blacken our picture of the world, and darken our idea of existence."

ChatGPTRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. obscurantist

   An obscurantist is a person or a doctrine that is deliberately intended to be vague, mysterious, or obscure in order to confuse, bewilder, or limit understanding. The goal is often to prevent enlightenment or to maintain the status quo. It can also refer to someone who actively opposes intellectual, social or cultural progress and enlightenment.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Obscurantistnoun

   same as Obscurant

The Nuttall EncyclopediaRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote

1. Obscurantist

   name given to an opponent to modern enlightenment as professed by the devotees of modern science and philosophy.

Matched Categories

1. • Deceiver

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Anagrams for obscurantist »

1. subtractions

2. substraction

How to pronounce obscurantist?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

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   Mark

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   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

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   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

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   Neerja

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   Zira

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   Oliver

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   Wendy

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   Fred

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   Tessa

   South African

How to say obscurantist in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of obscurantist in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of obscurantist in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=obscurantist
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Obscurantist
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obscurantist
4. ^ ChatGPT
   https://chat.openai.com
5. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obscurantist
6. ^ The Nuttall Encyclopedia
   https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/12342/pg12342-images.html#Obscurantist
7. ^ Usage in printed sources
   https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=obscurantist