opaque — [ ɔpak ] adj. • XIVe; lat. opacus « ombragé, touffu » 1 ♦ Qui s oppose au passage de la lumière. Verre opaque. « Le brouillard qui rendait pesante, opaque et nauséabonde la nuit » ( Maupassant). Collant opaque. ♢ OPAQUE À... : qui s oppose au… … Encyclopédie Universelle
opaque — [ō pāk′] adj. [ME opake < L opacus, shady] 1. not letting light pass through; not transparent or translucent 2. not reflecting light; not shining or lustrous; dull or dark 3. not allowing electricity, heat, etc. to pass through 4. hard to… … English World dictionary
opaque — UK US /əʊˈpeɪk/ adjective ► difficult to understand or know about, especially because things have been intentionally kept secret or made complicated: »Governments have been able to maintain opaque and discriminatory procurement practices.… … Financial and business terms
opaque — OPAQUE. adj. de tout genre. Terme dogmatique. Qui n est pas transparent. Corps opaque. cela est d une matiere opaque … Dictionnaire de l'Académie française
Opaque — O*paque , a. [F., fr. L. opacus. Cf. {Opacous}.] [1913 Webster] 1. Impervious to the rays of light; not transparent; as, an opaque substance. [1913 Webster] 2. Obscure; not clear; unintelligible. [Colloq.] [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Opaque — O*paque , n. That which is opaque; opacity. Young. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
opaque — (adj.) early 15c., opake, from L. opacus shaded, shady, dark, of unknown origin. Spelling influenced after c.1650 by Fr. opaque (c.1500), from the Latin. Figurative use from 1761. Related: Opaquely; opaqueness … Etymology dictionary
opaque — [adj1] clouded, muddy blurred, cloudy, dark, darkened, dim, dirty, dull, dusky, filmy, foggy, frosty, fuliginous, gloomy, hazy, impenetrable, lusterless, misty, muddied, murky, nontranslucent, nontransparent, nubilous, obfuscated, shady, smoky,… … New thesaurus
opaque — ► ADJECTIVE (opaquer, opaquest) 1) not able to be seen through; not transparent. 2) difficult or impossible to understand. ► NOUN Photography ▪ a substance for producing opaque areas on negatives. DERIVATIVES opaquely adverb … English terms dictionary
opaque — I adjective addlebrained, addleheaded, addlepated, ambiguous, asinine, benighted, bewildering, birdbrained, blind, blockish, boeotian, brainless, cloddish, clouded, cloudy, concealed, confused, confusing, cryptic, dark, dense, difficult,… … Law dictionary
