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arcane

adjective/ɑːˈkeɪn/

C1CEFR level
50/100Rarity: uncommon
NeutralRegister

Understood by few; mysterious or secret.

The tax code is riddled with arcane provisions that baffle even accountants.

Similar: esoteric, obscure, recondite

Topic: Cambridge C2 (part 2) in General English

Rarity runs from 0 (a word everyone knows) to 100 (almost never seen outside specialist or literary writing). Level is the word's real difficulty on the CEFR scale, from A1 to C2.

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More general words: Cambridge C2 (part 2)