opacity

[ oh-pas-i-tee ]
See synonyms for opacity on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural o·pac·i·ties.
  1. the state or quality of being opaque.

  2. something opaque.

  1. the degree to which a substance is opaque; capacity for being opaque.

  2. Photography. the proportion of the light that is absorbed by the emulsion on any given area of a film or plate.

  3. obscurity of meaning.

  4. mental dullness.

  5. Medicine/Medical. an opaque spot or area in normally clear or transparent tissue, as a cataract of the eye.

Origin of opacity

1
First recorded in 1550–60, opacity is from the Latin word opācitās shade. See opaque, -ity

Other words from opacity

  • non·o·pac·i·ty, noun, plural non·o·pac·i·ties.

Words Nearby opacity

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use opacity in a sentence

  • The sombre vision of nature's secret laws is interdicted to man by the fatal opacity of surrounding things.

    Toilers of the Sea | Victor Hugo
  • The first possesses the greatest opacity, while the second and third are most durable.

    Field's Chromatography | George Field
  • Anatomical changes took place in the cornea, as evidenced by a white opacity.

    Poisons: Their Effects and Detection | Alexander Wynter Blyth
  • The blue sky is more beautiful because we know it is not painted opacity, but transparent.

    More Pages from a Journal | Mark Rutherford
  • It may be she was not very visible; the double glasses of an open sash-window are almost equal to opacity.

    Somehow Good | William de Morgan

British Dictionary definitions for opacity

opacity

/ (əʊˈpæsɪtɪ) /


nounplural -ties
  1. the state or quality of being opaque

  2. the degree to which something is opaque

  1. an opaque object or substance

  2. obscurity of meaning; unintelligibility

  3. physics photog the ratio of the intensity of light incident on a medium, such as a photographic film, to that transmitted through the medium

  4. logic philosophy the property of being an opaque context

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