opaque
adj 1: not transmitting or reflecting light or radiant energy;
impenetrable to sight; "opaque windows of the jail";
"opaque to X-rays" [ant: clear]
2: not clearly understood or expressed [syn: opaque,
unintelligible]
opaque adjectiveEtymology: Latin opacusDate: 1641 1. exhibiting
opacity ; blocking the passage of radiant energy and especially
light 2.a. hard to understand or explain <opaque prose>
b.obtuse, thickheaded
• opaquenoun • opaquelyadverb •
opaquenessnoun
opaque adj. & n. --adj. (opaquer, opaquest) 1 not transmitting light. 2 impenetrable to sight. 3 obscure; not lucid. 4 obtuse, dull-witted. --n. 1 an opaque thing or
substance. 2 a substance for producing opaque areas on negatives. Derivatives: opaquely adv. opaqueness n. Etymology: ME opak f. L opacus: spelling now assim. to F
opaque
əuˈpeɪk adj. & n. --adj. (opaquer, opaquest) 1 not
transmitting light. 2 impenetrable to sight. 3 obscure; not lucid. 4 obtuse,
dull-witted. --n. 1 an opaque thing or substance. 2 a substance for producing
opaque areas on negatives. øøopaquely adv. opaqueness n. [ME opak f. L
opacus: spelling now assim. to F]
Opaque \O*paque"\, a. [F., fr. L. opacus. Cf. Opacous.]
1. Impervious to the rays of light; not transparent; as, an
opaque substance.
2. Obscure; not clear; unintelligible. [Colloq.]
opaque
əuˈpeɪk adj.
1 dark, murky, dim, turbid, muddy, cloudy, obscure, obscured, obfuscated, black,
impermeable, impenetrable, clouded, non-transparent, untransparent, non-translucent, hazy,
blurred, blurry, smoky: Solar eclipses should be viewed directly only through special opaque glass.
2 unclear, vague, indefinite, obscure, unfathomable, unplumbable, baffling, mystifying,
ambiguous, equivocal, impenetrable, cryptic, enigmatic, puzzling, perplexing, mysterious, elusive,
abstruse, arcane, recondite: Despite years of study, the inscriptions on the tomb have remained
opaque to scholars.
3 unintelligent, dense, thick, dull, obtuse, stupid, dull-witted, stolid, thickheaded,
dunderheaded, dunderpated, slow, doltish, backward, cloddish: He was too opaque to notice the
jeers of his colleagues.
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