obscurantist
Opposes spreading knowledge
An obscurantist opposes the spread of knowledge, preferring to keep information hidden or inaccessible.
The term usually carries negative connotations—suggesting someone who deliberately obfuscates, uses unnecessarily complex language, or resists enlightenment for ideological reasons: The professor dismissed the theorist as an obscurantist whose jargon concealed empty ideas.
As an adjective, obscurantist describes policies or attitudes that suppress inquiry or education.
Accessible to few
- arcaneUnderstood by few
- hermeticImpenetrably closed off
- reconditeObscure and specialized
- abstruseDifficult to comprehend
cabalistic · gnostic · initiatory · exclusive · inaccessible · rarefied · highbrow · mandarin
Opposed to educated thought
- retrogradeMoving in reverse direction
- regressiveReverting to earlier stages
- counterrevolutionaryOne opposing radical overthrow
- traditionalistAdherent to established customs
dogmatic · fundamentalist · authoritarian · censorious · repressive · suppressive · antiscientific · Luddite
Cosmetic for hiding flaws
- mystifierOne who confounds
- dissemblerOne who hides beliefs
- evasiveAvoiding direct response
- misleadingCausing false beliefs
muddying · smokescreen · equivocator · double-talk · opaque · veiled · clouding · confusing
Relating to formal learning
- dialecticianExpert in logical argument
- sophistDeceptive rhetorical trickster
- pedantObsessive precision-seeker
- casuistSpecious moral reasoner
metaphysician · theologian · mystic · poststructuralist · gnostic · kabbalist · alchemist · theosophist
esoteric
Accessible to few
abstruse · cabalistic · gnostic · initiatory · exclusive · inaccessible · rarefied · highbrow · mandarin · ivory tower
anti-intellectual
Opposed to educated thought
- retrogradeMoving in reverse direction
- regressiveReverting to earlier stages
- counterrevolutionaryOne opposing radical overthrow
traditionalist · dogmatic · fundamentalist · authoritarian · censorious · repressive · suppressive · antiscientific · Luddite · inquisitorial
concealer
Cosmetic for hiding flaws
- mystifierOne who confounds
- dissemblerOne who hides beliefs
- evasiveAvoiding direct response
misleading · muddying · smokescreen · equivocator · double-talk · opaque · veiled · clouding · confusing · diversionary
scholastic
Relating to formal learning
- dialecticianExpert in logical argument
- sophistDeceptive rhetorical trickster
- pedantObsessive precision-seeker
casuist · metaphysician · theologian · mystic · poststructuralist · gnostic · kabbalist · alchemist · theosophist · occultist
obscurantistenlightener
One who informs
educator · illuminator · explicator · clarifier · demystifier
obscurantistliberal
Open to reform
progressive · open-minded · empiricist · skeptic · modernist