limpid
Americanadjective
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clear, transparent, or pellucid, as water, crystal, or air.
We could see to the very bottom of the limpid pond.
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free from obscurity; lucid; clear.
a limpid style; limpid prose.
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completely calm; without distress or worry.
a limpid, emotionless existence.
adjective
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clear or transparent
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(esp of writings, style, etc) free from obscurity
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calm; peaceful
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of limpid
First recorded in 1605–15, limpid is from the Latin word limpidus clear. See lymph, -id 4
Explanation
The adjective limpid describes something (often liquid) that is clear, serene and bright. Nature calendars often feature glamour shots of a limpid stream or a limpid lake. The adjective limpid may also describe language that is easily understandable. Your teacher might ask you to give an answer in a single limpid sentence. But he probably won't because limpid is a word that's fallen out of use. Maybe because it sounds too much like limp. Or maybe because it's associated with the king of all clichés: "Her eyes were like limpid pools."
Vocabulary lists containing limpid
"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 8–13
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "J," "K," and "L"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The limpid four-movement ballet is both courtly and casual, with its intricately evolving choreographic patterns gently beguiling, as if seen in a crystalline hall of mirrors.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026
So is the limpid “Zhou Dunyi Admiring Lotuses,” an exquisite Qiu Ying scroll painting dated to the 1530s.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 28, 2023
The mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano was a mettlesome Meg, and as Nannetta, Hera Hyesang Park revealed a soprano as limpid as fresh water, even if a few top notes sounded hard and unsteady.
From New York Times • Mar. 13, 2023
His closing “Ave verum corpus” — a limpid and lucid transcription for solo piano by Franz Liszt — was among the finest single performances I’ve heard all year.
From Washington Post • Nov. 21, 2022
Every time my limpid contribution was read, I wanted to sink behind my chair rather than face the condescending stares of the Mitchison women.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
