diaphanous

American  

[dahy-af-uh-nuhs] / daɪˈæf ə nəs /

adjective

1. very sheer and light; almost completely transparent or translucent.

2. delicately hazy.

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diaphanous British  

/ daɪˈæfənəs, ˌdaɪəfəˈniːɪtɪ /

adjective

1. (usually of fabrics such as silk) fine and translucent

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Other Word Forms

• diaphanously adverb
• diaphanousness noun
• nondiaphanous adjective
• nondiaphanously adverb
• nondiaphanousness noun
• semidiaphanous adjective
• semidiaphanously adverb
• semidiaphanousness noun
• undiaphanous adjective
• undiaphanously adverb
• undiaphanousness noun

Etymology

Origin of diaphanous

1605–15; < Medieval Latin diaphanus < Greek diaphan(ḗs) transparent, equivalent to diaphan-, stem of diaphaínein to show through ( dia-, -phane ( def. ) ) + -ēs adj. suffix) + -ous

Example Sentences

And the clattering syncopated loop that repeats through “Oblivion” is there mostly as a contrast to the wispy and diaphanous vocals, which are so thin and leavened with reverb that they threaten to float away.

From The Wall Street Journal

But this is not a blood-and-guts show business exposé — it’s a diaphanous portrait of a woman who, like Anderson herself, wafts through life like a marabou feather.

From Los Angeles Times

For fall, diaphanous tiers of 1970s flounce in almost angelically light hues defined the show’s aesthetic inside a brutalist warehouse space.

From Seattle Times

There was indeed something Swinton-like in the cool, diaphanous quality of the materials.

From Los Angeles Times

SEATTLE—Many insects can dart across water, relying on the liquid’s surface tension to support the weight of their tiny, diaphanous bodies.

From Science Magazine