perspicuous

American  

[per-spik-yoo-uhs] / pərˈspɪk ju əs /

adjective

1. clearly expressed or presented; lucid.

   Synonyms:

   explicit, distinct, plain, intelligible

   Antonyms:

   indistinct, obscure

2. perspicacious.

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perspicuous British  

/ pəˈspɪkjʊəs /

adjective

1. (of speech or writing) easily understood; lucid

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Other Word Forms

• perspicuousness
  noun
• unperspicuousness
  noun
• unperspicuous
  adjective
• perspicuously
  adverb
• unperspicuously
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of perspicuous

First recorded in 1570–80; from Latin perspicuus “transparent, clearly visible,” equivalent to perspic(ere), “to look over, inspect, survey” (formed from preposition and prefix per, per- “through; thoroughly” + -spicere, combining form of specere “to see, observe, look”) + -uus adjective suffix; see per-, inspect )

Explanation

Perspicuous is an adjective describing language that is clear and easy to understand. When you give a presentation, you should speak in a perspicuous manner so that everyone will be able to follow you. Someone who is perspicuous speaks in a way that makes the meaning absolutely clear. The word perspicuous dates from the 15th century and comes from the Latin word perspicuus, meaning “transparent, clear,” which comes from the verb perspicere, meaning “to look at closely." Language that is perspicuous is language that is easily understood — to the point where you can almost see it.

Example Sentences

But were Tagovailoa a combat sport athlete — a boxer or mixed martial artist — there would be a timeline for return as perspicuous as if he were found to be taking banned performance-enhancing drugs.

From Washington Post • Oct. 7, 2022

But where Hofstadter is playfully enigmatic and brashly brainy, Chalmers’s writing is perspicuous and teacherly — an approach that keeps it from collapsing into recalcitrant obscurity.

From Washington Post • Feb. 11, 2022

Sir Robert Home, another Conservative ex-Chancellor, stated that he had never heard in the course of his Parliamentary experience a clearer or more perspicuous statement on national finance.

From Time Magazine Archive

He returned to the table, and once more took up his quill; all, once more, was perspicuous serenity.

From Time Magazine Archive

Moreover, The Peripateticks alledge for the reason of Natation the Cause of the Cause. he that alledgeth Gravity, brings a Cause most perspicuous to Sence: Gravity a Cause most perspicuous to sence.

From Discourse on Floating Bodies by Galilei, Galileo