obscure vs unknown

obscure

adj
  • Not well-known. 

  • Dark, faint or indistinct. 

  • Difficult to understand. 

  • Hidden, out of sight or inconspicuous. 

  • Unknown or uncertain; unclear. 

verb
  • To hide, put out of sight etc. 

  • To render obscure; to darken; to make dim; to keep in the dark; to hide; to make less visible, intelligible, legible, glorious, beautiful, or illustrious. 

unknown

adj
  • Not known; unidentified; not well known. 

noun
  • A variable (usually x, y or z) whose value is to be found. 

  • A person of no identity; a nonentity 

  • Any thing, place, or situation about which nothing is known; an unknown fact or piece of information. 

How often have the words obscure and unknown occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )