opacity

C2 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /oʊˈpæsɪti/ See IPA manual

noun Freq #105092

Meanings

1

noun
The quality of not allowing light to pass through.

We could not see the riverbed because of the opacity of the muddy water.
2

noun
The quality of being hard to understand.

The opacity of the new tax rules frustrated everyone trying to file their returns.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the quality of not allowing... opaqueness

2 noun · the quality of being hard... opaqueness

More nontransparency

Word family

Forms opacities

Derived forms nonopacityradioopacityradiopacitysemiopacitysubopacity

Etymology

From opaque + -ity, from French opacité, from Latin opacitas.

opacité French

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

# opacity

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** oʊˈpæsɪti
**Frequency rank:** 105092

## Meanings
1. The quality of not allowing light to pass through.
2. The quality of being hard to understand.

## Examples
- We could not see the riverbed because of the opacity of the muddy water.
- The opacity of the new tax rules frustrated everyone trying to file their returns.

## Synonyms
- nontransparency
- opaqueness

## Derived Forms
- nonopacity
- radioopacity
- radiopacity
- semiopacity
- subopacity

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: opacité

## Etymology
From opaque + -ity, from French opacité, from Latin opacitas.

## AI Etymology
Opacity is from opaque + -ity, from French opacité, from Latin opacitas. The analysis is mainly morphological: the modern nominal form is built from the named base and affix. Important recorded forms include opacité (French). Current senses include the quality of not allowing light to pass through and the quality of being hard to understand. The wider family includes derived forms such as nonopacity, radioopacity, radiopacity, semiopacity, and subopacity.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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