conspicuous
[kuhn-spik-yoo-uhs]
- easily seen or noticed; readily visible or observable: a conspicuous error.
- attracting special attention, as by outstanding qualities or eccentricities: He was conspicuous by his booming laughter.
Show More
Origin of conspicuous
1535–45; < Latin conspicuus visible, conspicuous, equivalent to conspic(ere) (see conspectus) + -uus deverbal adj. suffix; cf. contiguous, continuous, -ous
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
discerniblenoticeableevidentdistinctapparentvisiblesalientremarkablestrikinginfluentialflagrantnotableblatantglaringclearmanifestopen-and-shutpatentperceptibleplainExamples from the Web for conspicuous
Contemporary Examples
The system is truck-mounted and road-mobile, as are the big and conspicuous radars that stood next to it on display.
For Shaftel this kind of licentious behavior amounts to “conspicuous consumption disguised as urbanity.”
Any list of his conspicuous qualities turns out to be a recitation of opposites.
As recently as a few years ago, buying and driving a hybrid was an exercise in conspicuous consumption.
It was a dizzying time, and Shaquille handled an array of new situations with conspicuous aplomb.
Historical Examples
The country is very level, with low ranges, but no conspicuous hills.
Explorations in AustraliaJohn Forrest
Jennens was a conspicuous figure in the London society of his day.
HandelEdward J. Dent
His moral and religious qualities were as conspicuous as his mental ones.
Cleveland Past and PresentMaurice Joblin
It is the citizen-women alone who are conspicuous in history.
The Truth About WomanC. Gasquoine Hartley
Lastly, Variety: Variety is never so conspicuous, as when it is united with symmetry.
Modern Painters Volume I (of V)John Ruskin
conspicuous
- clearly visible; obvious or showy
- attracting attention because of a striking quality or featureconspicuous stupidity
Show More
Word Origin
C16: from Latin conspicuus, from conspicere to perceive; see conspectus
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for conspicuous
adj.
1540s, from Latin conspicuus "visible, open to view, striking," from conspicere "to look at, observe, see, notice," from com-, intensive prefix (see com-), + specere (see scope (n.1)). Phrase conspicuous by its absence (1859) is said to be from Tacitus ("Annals" iii.76), in a passage about certain images: "sed præfulgebant ... eo ipso quod effigies eorum non visebantur."
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper