Obvious Definition & Meaning - Adjective

American

British

Related Words

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms obvious American [ob-vee-uhs] / ˈɒb vi əs /

adjective

1. easily seen, recognized, or understood; open to view or knowledge; evident.

   an obvious advantage.

   Synonyms: unmistakable, palpable, clear, manifest, plain Antonyms: hidden

2. lacking in subtlety.

3. Obsolete. being or standing in the way.

obvious British / ˈɒbvɪəs /

adjective

1. easy to see or understand; evident

2. exhibiting motives, feelings, intentions, etc, clearly or without subtlety

3. naive or unsubtle

   the play was rather obvious

4. obsolete being or standing in the way

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

See apparent.

Other Word Forms

• nonobvious adjective
• nonobviously adverb
• nonobviousness noun
• obviously adverb
• obviousness noun
• overobvious adjective
• preobvious adjective
• preobviously adverb
• preobviousness noun
• unobvious adjective
• unobviously adverb
• unobviousness noun

Etymology

Origin of obvious

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin obvius “in the way, lying in the path,” equivalent to ob- ob- ( def. ) + vi(a) way 1 ( def. ) + -us, adjective suffix ( -ous ( def. ) )

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.

The next big caveat: there is not an obvious successor to Sir Keir at the moment.

From BBC

On Sunday night, the dominance of the Patriots will be obvious.

From Los Angeles Times

Hemetsberger's delight in completing the training run alone was obvious to see, a fist pumping the air as he came into the finish area.

From Barron's

“It’s obvious that military commanders and highly qualified specialists are under threat at a time of war,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.

From The Wall Street Journal

It is the obvious choice but that is because India come into this World Cup in formidable form and have home advantage.

From BBC

Related Words

• accessible
• clear
• conspicuous
• discernible
• distinct
• evident
• glaring
• indisputable
• noticeable
• overt
• palpable
• pronounced
• recognizable
• self-evident
• straightforward
• undeniable
• unmistakable
• visible

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.