different between opaque vs obscures

English

Alternative forms

• opake (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English opake, from Latin opacus (“shaded, shady, dark”) (of unknown origin), later reinforced from Middle French opaque. Doublet of ubac.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /???pe?k/
• (US) IPA^(key): /o??pe?k/
• Rhymes: -e?k

Adjective

opaque (comparative more opaque or opaquer, superlative most opaque or opaquest) (see usage notes)

1. Neither reflecting nor emitting light.
2. Allowing little light to pass through, not translucent or transparent.
3. (figuratively) Unclear, unintelligible, hard to get or explain the meaning of
4. (figuratively) Obtuse, stupid.
5. (computing) Describes a type for which higher-level callers have no knowledge of data values or their representations; all operations are carried out by the type's defined abstract operators.

Usage notes

• The comparative opaquer and superlative opaquest, though formed following valid rules for English, are much less common than more opaque and most opaque and seem to occur more frequently in poetry.
• Most opaque has been more common than opaquest for at least two centuries and 50 to 100 times more common in the last two decades, according to this Google Ngram comparison.

Antonyms

• (physically): see-through, translucent, transparent
• (figuratively): clear, obvious, bright, brilliant

Derived terms

• opaquely
• opaqueness
• radiopaque

Related terms

• opacity

Translations

Noun

opaque (plural opaques)

1. (obsolete, poetic) An area of darkness; a place or region with no light.
   • 1745, Edward Young, Night-Thoughts, I:

     Through this opaque of Nature and of Soul, / This double night, transmit one pitying ray, / To lighten, and to cheer.

2. Something which is opaque rather than translucent.

Translations

Verb

opaque (third-person singular simple present opaques, present participle opaquing, simple past and past participle opaqued)

1. (transitive) To make, render (more) opaque.

Synonyms

• blur
• cloud

Translations

See also

• translucent

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2021) , “opaque”, in Online Etymology Dictionary
• Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin op?cus (“shaded, shady, dark”), itself of unknown origin. Doublet of ubac.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?.pak/

Adjective

opaque (plural opaques)

1. opaque

   Antonyms: transparent, translucide

Derived terms

• opacifier
  • opacification
• opacité
• opaquement

Further reading

• “opaque” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Middle French

Adjective

opaque m or f (plural opaques)

1. opaque

Spanish

Verb

opaque

1. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of opacar.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of opacar.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of opacar.
4. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of opacar.

English

Verb

obscures

1. Third-person singular simple present indicative form of obscure

Anagrams

• subscore

Catalan

Adjective

obscures

1. feminine plural of obscur

French

Adjective

obscures

1. feminine plural of obscur

Latin

Verb

obsc?r?s

1. second-person singular present active subjunctive of obsc?r?