: known or knowable only to a few people : secret
arcane rites
an arcane ritual
Examples of arcane in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
These suits are all about arcane legal questions of how authorities should look at one transaction versus another.
—
Brady Dale, Axios, 21 Feb. 2025
Governmental assistance is an arcane topic that is potentially too boring for the mainstream press to cover.
—Shivaram Rajgopal, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2025
These include arcane regulation and insider dealing by Ukrainian businessmen and politicians, which could limit any profits from the arrangement.
—Constant Méheut, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2025
Scientific agencies have been staffed by scientists; scientists have set scientific priorities; scientists have ensured the integrity of the science that is done, on the theory that scientists know their own complicated, technical, sometimes arcane work best.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for arcane
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Brady Dale, Axios, 21 Feb. 2025
Governmental assistance is an arcane topic that is potentially too boring for the mainstream press to cover.
—Shivaram Rajgopal, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2025
These include arcane regulation and insider dealing by Ukrainian businessmen and politicians, which could limit any profits from the arrangement.
—Constant Méheut, New York Times, 16 Feb. 2025
Scientific agencies have been staffed by scientists; scientists have set scientific priorities; scientists have ensured the integrity of the science that is done, on the theory that scientists know their own complicated, technical, sometimes arcane work best.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 14 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for arcane
Cite this Entry
“Arcane.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arcane. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share