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You can describe something as abstruse if you find it highly complicated and difficult to understand.
If someone is addled by something, they are confused by it and unable to think properly.
When you adduce, you give facts and examples in order to prove that something is true.
If you describe something as ambiguous, you mean that it is unclear or confusing because it can be understood in multiple ways.
Something that is arcane is mysterious and secret, known and understood by only a few people.
If something confounds you, it makes you feel surprised and confused, often because it does not meet your predefined expectations.
A conundrum is a problem or puzzle that is difficult or impossible to solve.
When you decipher a message or piece of writing, you work out what it says, even though it is very difficult to read or understand.
A denouement is the end of a book, play, or series of events when everything is explained and comes to a conclusion.
A dilemma is a difficult situation or problem that consists of a choice between two equally disagreeable or unfavorable alternatives.
To divulge something is to reveal information that was once private or secret.
When you speak in an eloquent fashion, you speak beautifully in an expressive and persuasive way.
Someone or something that is enigmatic is mysterious and difficult to understand.
When you enunciate, you speak or state something clearly so that you can be easily understood.
When people equivocate, they avoid making a clear statement; they are deliberately vague in order to avoid giving a direct answer to a question.
If you evince particular feelings, qualities, or attitudes, you show them, often clearly.
Exegesis is a detailed explanation or interpretation of a piece of writing, especially a religious one.
Something that exemplifies something else serves as an example of it, illustrates it, or demonstrates it.
To explicate an idea or plan is to make it clear by explaining it.
An exposition is a detailed explanation or setting forth of an idea, theory, or problem, either in a written or spoken format.
When you expound something, you explain it in great detail, often taking a while to do so.
If you fathom something complicated or mysterious, you are able to understand it.
A garbled message or speech is confusing and not understandable, often because it is spoken in a hurry or is communicated with lots of accompanying noise.
If you gloss a difficult word, phrase, or other text, you provide an explanation for it in the form of a note.
Something impenetrable cannot be gotten through by any means; for example, an impenetrable problem cannot be understood, and an impenetrable door allows nothing to pass through it.
If an idea or thought is incisive, it is expressed in a penetrating and knowledgeable manner that is clear and brief; additionally, it can demonstrate impressive understanding of related ideas or thoughts.
Someone who is speaking in an incoherent fashion cannot be understood or is very hard to understand.
Lucid writing or speech is expressed in a way that is clear and easy to understand.
If you describe something as nebulous, you mean that it is unclear, vague, and not clearly defined; a shape that is nebulous has no clear boundaries.
To obfuscate something is to make it deliberately unclear, confusing, and difficult to understand.
An oblique statement is not straightforward or direct; rather, it is purposely roundabout, vague, or misleading.
Someone is obtuse when they are slow to understand things; someone can choose to be obtuse when they deliberately do not try to figure things out.
Something is opaque if it is either difficult to understand or is not transparent.
A paradox is a statement that appears to be self-contradictory or unrealistic but may surprisingly express a possible truth.
A parenthetical remark further explains or qualifies information.
The art of pedagogy is the methods used by a teacher to teach a subject.
Someone who demonstrates perspicacity notices or understands things very quickly.
Recondite areas of knowledge are those that are very difficult to understand and/or are not known by many people.
A subtle point is clever or so fine or slight that it is not obvious; it can also be deep or highly sophisticated.
Something that is turbid, such as water, is muddy or cloudy because it has lots of small pieces of matter or dirt in it.
Verb
elucidate
i-LOO-si-dayt
Context
While giving directions to the international travelers, Jim elucidated their route by drawing a helpful and clear map. He also elucidated the confusing layout of streets in town by explaining how easy it was to get back to the central square if you followed three simple rules. Jim has a knack for explaining or elucidating difficult matters. He is a physics teacher who can elucidate and clarify complex subjects like quantum physics to his students in a plain and easily understood manner.
Quiz:Try again!
If you elucidate a complicated plan, what are you doing?
You are trying to make it clearer by explaining it in detail.
You are making it easier to follow by removing some elements.
You are writing it out so that everyone has a copy of it.
Lucy's Date I don't think that I can elucidate the fact any more clearly that the fascinating and dazzling Lucy has a date tonight, and that it's not with you.
Examples
These unique artifacts elucidate not only shipbuilding technology and achievement, but also the vast administrative and bureaucratic nature of Middle Kingdom contacts with the world beyond Egypt’s borders.
—
USA Today
The museums don’t manage to elucidate some essentially American culture — because no such thing can or should exist, especially in a country as young and big and plural as this one.
—
The Washington Post
Many of Howard’s subjects may seem obscure, but the obscurity will be fleeting, as Howard’s goal in these essays is to teach, to elucidate, and to make our experience of the arts larger.
—
The Christian Science Monitor
The complaints about 'Beloved' elucidate Oscar Wilde’s observation: 'The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame.'
—
Los Angeles Times
If one elucidates a complex subject, one brings it “thoroughly” to “light,” or “makes it have the quality of thorough clarity.”
Word Theater
Alice in Wonderland The Mad Hatter successfully elucidates a rather strange concept.
The panel shows a small video clip of either the word in actual use or a scene that represents the meaning of a word. This not only breaks up the monotony of studying words but also provides another avenue to strengthen word meaning. Enjoy!
