opaque
- adjective
- /oʊˈpeɪk/
- The next case delves into one of the most opaque sections of the Uniform Commercial Code.
- opaque jargon
- opaque process
- opaque narrative
And it's like this terrible, really like opaque, nasty world.
- And it's like this terrible, really like opaque, nasty world.
- Now, Dewey is a rather opaque author.
- To say I'm partial to opaque objects.
- I feel like of all the bullshit in the world, there is nothing more opaque than art.
- Jason, the credit card industry is quite opaque.
Examples
-
Her explanation of the theory was opaque, leaving the students confused about the topic.
-
Their purposes are, as yet, opaque to me.
-
Their purposes are entirely opaque to me.
-
I mean, I think the NIH is pretty opaque about what they do.
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We have abused our capacity for action and distorted our freedom, creating an opaque and tragic human society.
Academic text (2001) -
Question-answering systems that rely heavily on machine learning are often criticized for being too opaque to allow clear explanations.
Academic text (2017) -
The episode underscored the Byzantine nature of politics in the north, which is opaque even to longtime Sudan analysts.
Academic text (2011) -
Central Europe's economies, although largely privatized, suffer from corruption and opaque business and accounting procedures.
Academic text (1998) -
The instructions were so opaque that I couldn't figure out how to assemble the furniture.
-
The report is written in an opaque style that makes it hard to understand the main points.
Synonyms
Not clear enough to understand
Not easy to see, hear, or understand
Not easy to understand or know for sure
Hard to understand and often seems mysterious
Very hard to understand
A thought that is not clear or detailed
Hard to understand because it shows no clear meaning or feeling
Too hard to read or understand
Hard to see or understand because it is not clear
A face, mind, or explanation that is not clear because of worry
Very hard to read or understand
Hard to understand or explain
Not possible for people to know or understand
Not possible for people to know or understand
Not clearly separated from other things and lacking clear edges
Antonyms
Compounds
How Clear
Surface Forms
Etymology
Opaque comes from the Latin opacus, which means 'shaded' or 'dark', and a helpful image is of words written in the dark that you cannot read. So opaque can mean hard to understand because the meaning is kept 'in the dark' or hidden.