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definitions

opaque

[oh-peyk]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR opaque ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

noun

something that is opaque.
Photography. a coloring matter, usually black or red, used to render part of a negative opaque.

verb (used with object), o·paqued, o·paqu·ing.

Photography. to cover up blemishes on (a negative), especially for making a printing plate.
to cause to become opaque.

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RELATED WORDS

impenetrable, murky, cloudy, hazy, gloomy, frosty, thick, dull, dirty, blurred, unclear, uncertain, equivocal, unintelligible, arcane, incomprehensible, vague, dark, dim, dusky

Origin of opaque

1375–1425; late Middle English opake < Latin opācus shaded
Related formso·paque·ly, adverbo·paque·ness, nounsub·o·paque, adjectivesub·o·paque·ly, adverbsub·o·paque·ness, noun

Synonyms for opaque

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR opaque ON THESAURUS.COM
1. murky, cloudy, muddy.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for opaque

Contemporary Examples of opaque

Historical Examples of opaque

  • Daylight was scarcely visible through the opaque window-panes.

    My Double Life

    Sarah Bernhardt

  • Around us were opaque mountains of clouds with irradiated edges.

    My Double Life

    Sarah Bernhardt

  • Some days—and these were the most distressing of all—an opaque veil of smoke enveloped Paris.

    My Double Life

    Sarah Bernhardt

  • But where is the opaque breath of the storm, where are the clouds?

    The Book of Khalid

    Ameen Rihani

  • The spores are broadly elliptic-fusiform, black, opaque, 107.

British Dictionary definitions for opaque

opaque

adjective

not transmitting light; not transparent or translucent
not reflecting light; lacking lustre or shine; dull
not transmitting radiant energy, such as electromagnetic or corpuscular radiation, or sound
hard to understand; unintelligible
unintelligent; dense

noun

photog an opaque pigment used to block out particular areas on a negative

verb opaques, opaquing or opaqued (tr)

to make opaque
photog to block out particular areas, such as blemishes, on (a negative), using an opaque
Derived Formsopaquely, adverbopaqueness, noun

Word Origin for opaque

C15: from Latin opācus shady
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 opaque
adj.

early 15c., opake, from Latin opacus "shaded, in the shade, shady, dark, darkened, obscure," of unknown origin. Spelling influenced after c.1650 by French opaque (c.1500), from the Latin. Figurative use from 1761. Related: Opaquely; opaqueness.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for opaque

opaque

[ō-pāk′]

adj.

Impenetrable by light; neither transparent nor translucent.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Science definitions for opaque

opaque

[ō-pāk′]

Resistant to the transmission of certain kinds of radiation, usually light. Metals and many minerals are opaque to light, while being transparent to radio waves and neutrinos. Compare translucent transparent.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.