▸ adjective easily perceived or understood; clear, self-evident, or apparent:
unemployment has been the most obvious cost of the recession
[with clause] it was obvious a storm was coming in.
▪ derogatory predictable and lacking in subtlety:
it was an obvious remark to make.
– ORIGIN late 16th century (in the sense ‘frequently encountered’): from Latin obvius (from the phrase ob viam ‘in the way’) + -ous.