arcane

ar·cane

adj \är-ˈkān\

Definition of ARCANE

: known or knowable only to the initiate : secret <arcane rites>; broadly : mysterious, obscure <arcane explanations>

Examples of ARCANE

1. a theory filled with arcane details
2. <grammatical rules that seem arcane to generations of students who were never taught grammar in the first place>

Origin of ARCANE

Latin arcanus

First Known Use: 1547

Related to ARCANE

Synonyms: abstruse, profound, deep, esoteric, hermetic (also hermetical), recondite

Antonyms: shallow, superficial

Related Words: erudite, learned, scholarly; academic (also academical), pedantic; complex, complicated, hard; darkling, enigmatic (also enigmatical), inscrutable, mysterious, mystic, mystical, orphic, uncanny; impenetrable, incomprehensible, unfathomable, unintelligible; ambiguous, cryptic; unanswerable, unknowable; baffling, bewildering, confounding, confusing, disorienting, mystifying, perplexing, puzzling

Near Antonyms: easy, facile, simple, straightforward; comprehensible, fathomable, intelligible, understandable; apparent, clear, clear-cut, distinct, evident, lucid, manifest, obvious, perspicuous, plain, transparent

see all synonyms and antonyms

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Other Occult Terms

augury, censor, invocation, lucidity, metempsychosis, mojo, numinous, preternatural, weird, wraith

Rhymes with ARCANE

abstain, again, air lane, airplane, amain, arraign, attain, Bahrain, Bassein, Beltane, biplane, birdbrain, block plane, bloodstain, boat train, brain drain, bugbane, campaign, champagne, champaign, Champlain, checkrein, chicane, chilblain, choke chain, chow mein, cinquain, cocaine, Cockaigne, Coltrane, coxswain, complain, constrain, contain, cordwain, cowbane, crackbrain, demesne, deplane, destain, detain, detrain, devein, disdain, distain, distrain, dogbane, domain, drivetrain, dumb cane, edge-grain, Elaine, enchain, enplane, entrain, ethane, explain, eyestrain, fast lane, fleabane, floatplane, floodplain, food chain, forebrain, Fort Wayne, Gawain, germane, Great Dane, grosgrain, half plane, henbane, hindbrain, house-train, humane, Hussein, Igraine, immane, inane, ingrain, insane, jack plane, lamebrain, left brain, lightplane, lo mein, long-chain, Lorraine, maintain, marchpane, membrane, methane, midbrain, migraine, Montaigne, montane, moraine, mortmain, Moulmein, mundane, neck-rein, New Spain, obtain, octane, ordain, pertain, plain-Jane, profane, propane, ptomaine, purslane, quatrain, raise Cain, refrain, remain, restrain, retain, retrain, right brain, romaine, sailplane, sea-lane, seaplane, seatrain, split-brain, sustain, tailplane, tearstain, terrane, Touraine, towplane, triplane, Ukraine, unchain, urbane, vervain, vicereine, villein, volplane, warplane, wave train, wolfsbane