diaphanous

[dahy-af-uh-nuhs]

adjective

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

2. delicately hazy.

diaphanous

/ daɪˈæfənəs, ˌdaɪəfəˈniːɪtɪ /

adjective

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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of diaphanous¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of diaphanous¹

C17: from Medieval Latin diaphanus, from Greek diaphanēs transparent, from diaphainein to show through, from _dia- + phainein to show

Example Sentences

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.

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

Read more on Seattle Times

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

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A model, a swan-like apparition, waded through a lake of blood-colored liquid, her diaphanous gown absorbing the vibrant hue and trailing a crimson path down the runway.

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

Read more on Science Magazine